Clamouring voices
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: February 27, 2013 -

The promptness with which the Opposition parties in the State have reacted to the largest ever drug haul from the PRO of Defence Wing Colonel Ajay Chowdhry and his five accomplices while they were heading towards Moreh on Sunday was, no doubt, appreciable.

Taking serious note of the matter, the Opposition parties convened a joint press conference at the office of MPP on Monday and announced their decision of taking up the issue in the Parliament, which is currently in session for discussion and passing of budget, 2013-14.

With the ruling Congress-led State Government maintaining stoic silence over other similar cases of drug seizures, more particularly, the one from Tulihal Airport, Imphal on January 11 last wherein some high profile individuals closely related to the administration are suspected to be involved, the apprehension of the Opposition parties whether the accused Army Colonel Ajay Chowdhry would be ever punished under the law of the land even though he was caught red-handed while trying to smuggle out a huge consignment of narcotic drugs worth more than Rs 15 crores into Myanmar, is self-explanatory and understandable.

But the Opposition front needs not be disheartened and pessimistic on this count. Now is the moment for all the Opposition parties to put together their act and strength, and live up to their responsibilities as the watchdog of democracy to make the Government of the day accountable for its every act of omission and commission.

Having said that, one very disturbing trend that is normally seen among the Opposition parties when it comes to taking up an important issue to its logical conclusion is their penchant for trying to gain political mileage out of that particular issue.

In fact, this very same old character of the Opposition in Manipur seems to have surfaced already even before the issue of increasing cases of drug seizure and smuggling is taken up with the seriousness it deserves.

While a group of Opposition leaders are addressing a press conference at the office of MPP to announce their decision of raising the issue in the ongoing Parliament session, why does Opposition leader Dr Dr I Ibohal Singh of Manipur Pradesh Trinamool Congress (MPTC) felt it necessary to call a separate press conference at his own official residence at Babupara to speak over the same issue and raise the demand for handing over the case to Central Narcotic Bureau?

This is one question that every discerning public would like to raise to all the Opposition parties and their leaders in the State if they are really concern about the pressing issue at hand.

They should remember that the principle of 'united we stand, divided we fall', equally applies to the Opposition as well.

As we have pointed out earlier, the drama has just begun with the opening up of the forbidden Pandora's Box by Col Ajay Chowdhry.

So, if the Opposition leaders do not want to miss the fun, then they should think and act together instead of speaking from different platforms to gain political mileage from an urgent issue, whose negligence would spell doom for Manipuri society.