Ibobi will have to go

Puni Modoli *

In trouble torn Manipur, Shri Ibobi Singh, had ruled the state with his head firmly stucked in the proverbial lion's mouth.

The insurgent outfits in the state had their finger in every pie- they run a parallel government with the permission of the boss, of course. In every development work a percentage or an interest (read, work order) goes to the insurgents or their nominees, another is for the politicians and yet another is for the beurocrates.

All departments\\ government servants pay two taxes an annual tax to the government and a monthly tax to the local parallel government. The police and the para military forces are kept happy by allowing them to take credit for killing innocent civilians who turn into 'hard-core terrorists' in their reports.

National awards and promotions follow. But the person who reaps the maximum benefit from this brutal and horrible exercise is the CM himself. He seems to have been able to convince his bosses in New Delhi that his was an unenviable job and yet he is doing his best and getting results.

See the encounter killings! By playing with fire he had clung to his chair.

And now if he has to be rudely awakened from his siesta he has only himself to blame. His statement in the State Assembly on the 'encounter' death of Ch.Sanjit was "'hatpa nattana upai leite'" meaning 'no other means except slaying'. It can mean the easiest way out is plain cold-blooded killing.

No problems, no hassles many possibilities. That such uncivilized and cruel language came from the mouth of the head of the state is a matter of great shame. It also reflected how deeply alienated he is from the people at the grassroot level.

By his pronouncement, he appears to give the impression that the judicial system is irrelevant in the state and that the state police and the para military forces are arbitrary slaying machines. But there was no reaction from the concerned departments. Just quiescent silence.

The intelligentsia also have long learnt to be ostriches in the beautiful and lush valleys and dales of Manipur. Except the public that is. They would call road blockades, burn tyres and refuse to take the corpse from the morgue.

Eventually the broken heart club will lose momentum as time wears on, compounded with the apathy of the government authorities , will slowly fade away.

Then, Tehelka happened.

And in a way that no one could have imagined. In the entire history of free India, from all the battle torn fronts of the country. the Tehelka images of the cold - blooded slaying of Ch. Sanjit has no parallel.

The act of crude beastiality caught on camera was a affront to humanity, and have no place in a democratic country in the 21st century. The Chief Minister who a few days back had stated 'hatpa nattana upai leite' must also own-up responsibility and in his own words say 'chatpa nattana upai leite' {no other means except leaving}.

He has no business to continue in office. It was also a powerful document against the imposition of AFSPA.

Under the changed scenario, everyone who had spoken for and/or supported the continuation of the AFSPA in the past have now a moral responsibility to themselves most of all, to rethink the issue afresh.

That is how the corollary of events will have to run if the powers that be are to salvage any respectability out of this sordid mess. The Army or the intelligence wings are likely to press for the retention of Ibobi Singh, not without good reason.

They may be of the opinion that giving-up on Ibobi at this juncture would tantamount to giving-in to the pro-insurgent elements in the state. What they have to realize is that the flood gates had been open already and the next phase of the agitation would be taking-on AFSPA.

The situation could easily snowball into a combined movement against AFSPA. The better option will be let Ibobi step down owning moral responsibility for the whole sordid episode thereby cutting the umbilical cord between what has happened and what is to follow.

If the situation is not resolved at the local level but allowed to drag on, the accountability for acts of omission and commission will surely shift to New Delhi.

Here one must remember that the Tahelka expose, the article and the images are defining, absolute and irrefutable. And the earlier the authorities get into damage control mode the better for all around.