Lies Revisited- MHA trying to save own face
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 16, 2010 -

For the people of Manipur, there's no doubt to be argued over, that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had unilaterally given consent to the request of Th Muivah, General Secretary of NSCN-IM to visit Somdal in Ukhrul district of Manipur.

But when a team of BJP national leaders met the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram and expressed unhappiness about the tragic situations unfolding in Manipur that resulted from the Centre's unilateral decision to allow Muivah to visit Manipur, Mr Chidambaram had reportedly told the BJP leaders that the Centre did not take unilateral decision but consulted the Chief Minister of Manipur.

That unexpected reply of the Home Minister suddenly sowed the seed of suspicion in the mind of the BJP leaders, who asked the Manipur Pradesh BJP leaders to enquire whether Chief Minister O Ibobi was indeed consulted before Muivah's proposed visit was finalized. On part of the Chief Minister, O Ibobi or the State government, it was clear that the MHA did not consult the state government.

It's clear that the Centre had already given permission to Muivah to visit his native village, Somdal and other places in Ukhrul and Senapati districts. This could be confirmed from many statements issued by the NSCN-IM during the past forty or so days which expressed its anger and disappointment saying that the MHA had earlier okayed Muivah's visit to his native village, and now was telling Muivah not to go to Manipur.

Meanwhile, reacting to an editorial comment published in Hindustan Times on June 10, Ravinder Singh, Director of Media and Communication, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India wrote a letter to the editor contradicting the editorial comment and clarifying certain points on June 11. ( The letter to editor was reproduced on the Sunday Varieties page of this newspaper on June 13, Sunday as it was all about the present crisis of Manipur.)

Among the points made in the letter, what's glaring is that "no permission was granted to Muivah by the Centre to visit Manipur." The letter quoted Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement issued on May 15 in New Delhi as saying that "Muivah had expressed a desire to visit his native village, Somdal in Ukhrul district, and submitted an itinerary through the interlocutor, R.S. Pandey. Muivah was told that his visit can be facilitated in consultation with the Government of Manipur. The Manipur Government took the stand that such a visit would not be appropriate at this time."

It may be remembered that the State Cabinet took the decision not to allow Muivah to come to Manipur on April 30 last. The Cabinet meeting was held after receiving a secret/crash wireless message from Vandana Kini, Director, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India on April 29 addressed to the Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur and the DGP, Government of Manipur saying that Muivah is scheduled to visit Hebron and Ukhrul on way to his village Somdal between May 2 and 9, that he would attend public meetings at Ukhrul, Senapati and other places, and that "Muivah is a 'Z+' category protectee under a special security scheme and he continues to face a serious threat from rival Naga groups and UGs in the North East."

The MHA message asked the Chief Secretary and the DGP to provide "fool proof security arrangements for Muivah during his visit."

This shows clearly that the MHA had already granted permission to Muivah to visit Somdal much before informing the State Chief Minister about the visit. It was only after the State Cabinet had taken the decision to bar Muivah from entering Manipur on April 30 and the MHA was intimated of the Cabinet decision that Home Minister Chidambaram and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee contacted and tried to persuade Chief Minister Ibobi to allow Muivah to visit his native village.

Having failed to persuade Shri Ibobi to change the decision on phone, he was asked to go over to Delhi and discuss the matter. The rest is history.

Therefore, it is absolutely clear that whatever statements issued by the Home Minister or officials of the MHA saying that the Government of Manipur was consulted prior to giving Muivah a nod to his proposed visit to Manipur is nothing but lies revisited and an attempt to save their own face, which otherwise was reddening.