Let-down from biting off more
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: August 14, 2023 -
THE feeling of 'let-down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi' that C Lalrosanga, the honourable Lok Sabha MP from Mizoram, felt over the manner of handling the now more than three-month old violent conflict between Meietei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities in the tiny north-eastern state of Manipur, is understandable.
It must be the same feeling of disappointment that a delegation of Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) felt after their meeting with Union Home Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah three days earlier as well as while listening to the observation placed on the floor of the Parliament by the latter during the discussion on the no-confidence motion raised by the Opposition alliance INDIA against the ruling BJP-led NDA government over what it described as "wrong handling of the Manipur crisis."
During the meeting which was convened in the backdrop of the strong public protest against the now deferred plan of holding mass burial ceremony for the Kukis killed in the ongoing clashes at Torbung Bangla in Bishnupur district; the ITLF delegates, who managed to reach New Delhi via Aizawl after elaborate arrangements made for their 'safely' with the help of Mizoram Government, were in for a rude shock when the Union Minister of Home Affairs told them to look for an alternative site for the burial.
This feeling of disappointment and dejection felt by the ITLF was completed the following day when the Union Home Minister reaffirmed that infiltration from across the border specially after the military coup in the neighbouring country Myanmar was responsible for the current violence in Manipur while giving his reply to the no-trust motion of the opposition parties.
That one single word 'infiltration' threw cold water on the whole narrative of being 'persecuted' by the majority community that ITLF have had been hard-selling at every possible forum.
Interestingly, the feeling of 'let-down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi' that C Lalrosanga felt and shared with Karan Thapar during an interview on The Wire has got to do not so much with the no-confidence motion, which obviously got defeated in a house outnumbered by members of the ruling party.
Despite being one of the oldest allies of NDA, the lone MNF Lok Sabha member from Mizoram supported the no-confidence motion moved by the grand opposition alliance and voted against the government as his party, as he put it, is "dissatisfied with the Centre's handling of the Manipur issue".
The partnership and support of MNF to the BJP-led NDA government at the centre has been one of political convenience rather than any common ideology or political principle that the two entities might share, even remotely.
Time and again, Chief Minister of Mizoram and president of the ruling MNF Zoramthanga has iterated that his party's support to the BJ P-led NDA government is only issue-based and it would oppose the alliance if and when it goes against the interest of the Mizo people.
True to this stand, MNF and Mizoram government have had acted against the collective decision of NDA on numerous occasions, whether it is over the issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, deportation of Myanmarese refugees, and now the controversial Uniform Civil Code.
However, this daring political act of MNF and Mizoram Government, which could see nothing beyond its own Mizo people, seems to have done more harm than any possible good to its reputation by needlessly poking nose into the affairs of a neighbouring state, all in the name of showing solidarity to the supposedly persecuted kindred tribes.
So, the feeling of let-down from taking a bite off more than one can chew is naturally understandable.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.