CAB date with RS on Feb 12 ? Days of street protest
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 08 2019 -

Mass public protest on the one hand under the aegis of Manipur People Against Citizenship Amendment Bill (MANPAC) and BJP set to table CAB on February 12 in the ongoing session of the Rajya Sabha.

The February 12 date was reported by Pratidin a widely read newspaper in Assam and if the said Bill is indeed tabled in the Upper House and passed then one can expect all hell to break loose in the North East region.

The Mizoram BJP has already announced that if the Bill is indeed passed then the saffron party will be dissolved in the State.

Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar of the NPP too had assured agitating womenfolk that if the Bill is indeed passed in the Upper House to become an Act, then the NPP would withdraw support to the BJP Government at Imphal.

NPP president Conrad Sangma, who has been the rallying point for the many who are opposed to the CAB, had also announced that it will snap ties with the BJP if the Bill is passed.

The interesting point is, if such a situation becomes a reality then what may happen here.

All indications that the said Bill may plunge the State into a period of political uncertainty and this is certainly unwanted.

A fluid political situation can never be a healthy option for any State and more so for Manipur, when the peace talk between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India is reportedly at its final stage.

Moreover the NSCN (IM) too would want the final deal to be inked soon, for there is just no way anyone can predict which party will come to power after the next Lok Sabha election.

The dynamics at work is interesting and suddenly the CAB seems to be central to many of the issues besieging the State and the region.

Another interesting question is, what if the CAB is defeated in the Rajya Sabha, given the way other political parties have been mobilised against the Bill ?

If this happens then will this mean that the BJP in Mizoram will not be dissolved ?

Is it going to be a question of whether the Bill is passed or not or will it mean something more ?

Will the NPP in Manipur still continue to sup with the BJP if the Bill is tabled in the Rajya Sabha but gets defeated ?

Will the intention of the BJP be forgotten if the Bill is defeated in the Rajya Sabha ?

More importantly will the people question or turn a blind eye to the intention of the BJP as a political party ?

How will the days of street protest impact on the coming Lok Sabha elections ?

All questions and there certainly will not be any easy answers to these posers.

Tough to say how things will pan out in the coming days, but significant to note that the people are today out on the streets and it is this cry which the BJP leadership at Delhi should take note of.