Damage control exercise going haywire : Stopping at the Governor’s door
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: Ocotber 11, 2014 -
Damage control exercise.
On the flip side, the damage control attempt may have done more harm than intended. Not an enviable position.
Chief Minister O Ibobi may be trying to placate the sentiments of the people, but in the process he seems to have only ended up shooting himself on the leg, if the manner in which the Opposition parties and others have gone after him is anything to go by.
First the State Assembly, where the Congress has an absolute majority, passes a Bill that the Umang Lais will be brought under the Govindaji Temple Board.
Not unexpectedly this evoked a strong protest and the Chief Minister had to beat a hasty retreat and say that the Governor has been approached not to give his assent to the Bill, which would otherwise have turned it into an Act.
That the Chief Minister announced this at the Mera Hou Chongba occasion should be enough indication that he was under the impression that it would be taken in the right spirit by the people.
Barely 24 hours after the Chief Minister’s pronouncement, the Umang Lai Kanba Lup (UKAL) reacted and pointed out that approaching the Governor is not the answer.
Rather, what is needed for the Government is to convene a special session of the Assembly and declare the Bill as null and void, is their stand.
How far this would go down with the rules and regulations is something only experts can say, but UKAL does have a point here.
Why pass a Bill in the first place if attempts are going to be made to stop it from turning into an Act ?
If the Chief Minister was looking to score a point or two with the people then it seems to have misfired badly, for it is not only UKAL which has raised the banner of protest and questioned the sincerity of the Government but also other political parties.
With the by election of Hiyanglam Assembly Constituency drawing near, it was therefore not surprising to see the BJP going hammer and tongs against the Government over this issue.
Humiliating is the term used by the State unit of the BJP to describe the proclamation of the Chief Minister that the Governor has been approached not to give his assent to the Bill.
The Manipur People’s Party too jumped onto the band wagon and questioned why the Bill was passed if it was going to be rescinded.
The BJP and the MPP have made their point and it remains to be seen how far this would impact on the outcome of the by election, but it is nevertheless important to note that there is seriously something wrong with the Government.
A Bill cannot be passed just like that. The casual manner in which the Government approaches an issue as sensitive as religion is something that is hard to come to terms with.
The Governor may be persuaded to stop the Bill from turning it into an Act, but the hollowness of the Government while dealing with sensitive issues has been laid bare for all to see and digest.
Not something which any political doctor would prescribe. No wonder then that the Government has been known as one which has mastered the art of proceeding from one crisis to the other, without really dealing with the crisis.
Certainly not the way in which a Government should be run and managed.
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