Far removed from Congress Mukt slogan : Ugly internal tussle
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 15 2019 -

Did Chief Minister N Biren Singh pull a fast one in asserting that the decision to strip the Finance portfolio from Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar and the Works and Power portfolios from Th Biswajit Singh had the sanction of the Cabinet which reportedly met on June 12 evening ?

This question is raised in the backdrop of the fact that Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar has gone on record to state that the Cabinet meeting did not take any decision such as stripping the portfolios of Ministers.

Former Works Minister Th Biswajit has also gone on record to flatly reject the charge that the Works Department and Power Department had released huge sums of money when the election model of conduct was in force and which led to the overdraft the State is facing currently.

The question here is not so much about the truth, for in the dust kicked up in the internal power tussle this question will elicit different takes, particularly from those on either side of the power tussle, but what cannot be waved aside that easily is the fact that the image of the BJP led Government has taken a severe beating in the eyes of the discerning public.

At the centre of it all is BJP the political party, which its general secretary Ram Madhav has proclaimed as a party which has shown that a political party can run on values and performance !

Far from being a party which runs on values and performance, the present tussle looks more like the case of a bitter clash to be at the centre stage of power !

Moreover the present tussle is something far removed from the Congress Mukt slogan coined by the party and for which the North East Democratic Alliance was formed.

This fact should not blow over the heads of the State BJP leaders who have all gone to New Delhi to lobby with the Central leaders of the party.

A little over two years since the BJP led Government came to power and the present situation is more than enough to underline the point that not all in the State BJP have been able to sit down together and talk things over.

Such a situation can only work to the advantage of the Congress and other political parties which do not see eye to eye with the saffron party.

Overdraft is the reason that has been cited for stripping the key portfolios of two prominent Ministers and while financial discipline is no doubt important, shouldn’t the overdraft be one of collective responsibility ?

Chief Minister N Biren obviously thinks otherwise but important to remember that the internal rumblings within the coalition Government and within the BJP itself had started doing the round days before the State plunged into the overdraft situation.

This is a point which would not have missed the eyes of any keen observer.

Tough to say which way the wind will blow and how the Central leaders of the saffron party will respond, but the situation cannot be allowed to continue like this for long.

All eyes will be on Delhi and how the Centre respond to the situation will in a way reflect where Manipur stands in their larger scheme of things.

Political uncertainty can never be good for the State and her people.