Emergence of Gaikhangam : Forging a winning team
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 23, 2012 -

Gaikhangam being welcome at Tamenglong in May 2012 :: Pix - HL

Not a final report card. Not yet, for there are still miles to go, to borrow a line of thought from Robert Frost.

But newly inducted Deputy Chief Minister Mr Gaikhangam, who also happens to hold the Home portfolio, appears to have come out on his own.

The last word is yet to be said and this is not in any way a eulogy to the man from Nungba Assembly Constituency.

There is however something refreshingly different in the manner in which he responded swiftly to the public blockade imposed by the Kuki State Demand Committee as well as the demand to start a political dialogue by the Kuki National Organisation and the United People's Front, the two umbrella organisations of Kuki armed groups, which are signatories to the Suspension of Operation pact.

The public blockade has been suspended now, seemingly in the face of the assurance that the Deputy Chief Minister managed to extract from the Union Home Minister that the political dialogue with the SoO groups would be initiated soon.

If this is significant, so too was the deft handling of the Inner Line Permit issue with the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System in Manipur.

These are early days but the swiftness in which the State Government responded to the different issues is a refreshing change from the earlier times, such as during the more than 100 days economic blockade of 2011 or the manner in which the public protests over the July 23, 2009 Khwairamband killings were stonewalled.

Not bad going so far, but as noted earlier, there are still miles to go and the final word on the Deputy Chief Minister is yet to be said. Understanding the pulse beat of the people and responding to situations which merit the immediate attention of the Government is what sets apart the wannabes from the leaders.

To repeat, this is not a eulogy to the Deputy Chief Minister.

Far from it, this is a reminder to all the 60 elected members and the 12 member Council of Ministers that mediocrity cannot be the bench mark for governance.

And that mark can only be set higher a notch or two or three, when the leadership is able to forge a winning team. Teamwork, this is what it should be all about. And teamwork can come about only when there is stability.

The last thing that Manipur needs right now, when there are so many pressing issues, is political instability.

In Gaikhangam, Chief Minister O Ibobi appears to have a man who is out to convey the message that he means business.

This is what Manipur needs right now. A right and left hand combination.

Any move to upset the applecart will only be to the detriment of the place and her people.

This is what should be clear to the honourable 60 MLAs, whether they are on the ruling bench or the Opposition, the different pressure groups and the power brokers.

The crucial part obviously will hinge over the question of how the two men work together and complement each other and take the rest along as a team in the long run.

The responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the two top men in the Congress Government is thus clear.

Political instability will be anathema to the spirit of Manipur at this critical juncture and as leaders of the people, the prime concern of the two should be to keep the interest of the land and her people on top of the priority list.