More a politician than a statesman : Time for CM to draw the line
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 30, 2014 -

Time for Mr Ibobi to draw the line and decide when he should be publicly speaking as the Chief Minister of Manipur or as a Congress leader.

A Parliamentary democracy it is and hence it may not always be easy to draw the line, but it is the ability to draw this line that sets apart the statesman from the politician and there is nothing much to show that the Chief Minister knows the fine, dividing line.

A pity it is for Manipur.

This inability to draw the line came to the fore in his address at the 129th foundation day of the Indian National Congress on December 28.

Not very clear if Mr Ibobi addressed the 129th foundation day of the INC as the Chief Minister of Manipur or as a Congress man, but it would have made so much more sense if he had talked about the Congress as an organisation instead as a party in power here.

Some hard talk would have also gone down well with the people. Maybe it was not the right platform, but then it is time for the Congress to come to the point that falling back on history is not exactly the prescribed formula to regain lost territory.

Granted the Congress here seems to be on a firm ground, especially after the convincing win of its candidate in the by election to the Hiyanglam Assembly Constituency, but this cannot be the trump card for the next Assembly election.

Moreover it should not be forgotten that the BJP is fast becoming the primary party that may be in a position to take the fight to the Congress come the next Assembly election.

Fifteen years of being in power should not blind the Congress leaders to this possibility.

This is especially true in a place like Manipur where the political equations in Delhi have always had a profound impact on the politics here.

Look to the future but yet at the same time it is also important to show that some lessons have been learnt from the past.

The 129th foundation day of the Congress would have been the ideal day for such an exercise. Has the State Congress learnt any lesson from the past is a question worth raising now.

There is no argument over the fact that the State has enjoyed political stability, but it would do good for all, especially the Congress leaders to remember that this came about only after the then BJP led NDA Government passed the stringent anti-defection Bill more than ten years back.

It would also do good for the present leadership to question why corruption has become synonymous with the Government.

No one has been convicted as yet, but this does not necessarily mean that everything has been above board.

In the last Assembly election in 2012, the Congress received a massive mandate, but there is as yet nothing much to show that the mandate has been translated into governance.

Time for the Chief Minister and his men to realise that there is a big difference between being in power and giving governance a chance.

Would have made the foundation day of the Congress all that more meaningful if some thoughts were given to the points that have been raised here.