Looking beyond the obvious
- Imphal Times Editorial :: September 14 2016 -

In what comes off as a clear case of impotent rage and indignation, the ruling party of the state issued a hasty order expelling sitting MLA Y Erabot from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress for six years with immediate effect, an act of retribution which is a tad too late as the sitting MLA of Wangkhei AC has already announced his decision not only to quit the ruling party but also give up his membership of the state Legislative Assembly days ago.

The final act of defiance was the subsequent joining of the ‘expelled’ member to BJP. Erabot has been considered an opposition within the ruling party for his uncompromising views and forthright opinions for long, one who took immense personal risks to set things right.

It was also reported that the reason behind his decision to quit his rank and membership from the ruling party is the increasingly despotic political system as well as the deliberate scheme to set up a dynastic administrative setup within the Congress party compounded by its wanton indulgence in corrupt practices, examples of which are too many to list down.

What has sparked the interest and speculation of the public regarding the political future of the state is the fact that while the one party considered the best bet to maintain administrative stability and implement political reforms have evidently started cracking at the seams and is showing irrefutable signs of internal damage and rot, the alternative is nothing to cheer about either, with more or less the same players donning different team jersey but harboring the same intent and attitude taking centre stage.

And while the state has been thrown into a cauldron of turmoil and chaos largely due to the incoherent and abrupt approach towards administrative matters by the government, those at the helm of affairs in the state are still nonchalant of the issues burning up the state- from communal to employment to education to infrastructure.

Perhaps the false sense of invincibility that evidently crept in as a result of the consecutive victories in the general elections have lulled them into disregarding the emergent issues and are drifting away from the reality that the state is reeling in today. Cronies and hangers-on of the rich and the powerful have started to assert their connections and are flaunting it like badges of honour.

The tantalizing wait for change and development in the state have not happened so far, and is unlikely to happen within the tenure of the present government, saddled as it is with problems and controversies which are mostly of its own making.

The society is approaching a crossroad and are about to make that vital decision which will have a bearing not only on our everyday lives but on the lives of our future generations.

It is time to look beyond the few thousand rupees being passed around to entice our sympathy.