No over the top glee at Meghalaya : Rousing reception at Imphal
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 20 2019 -

It was just a few days back that Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma emerged as the rallying point for all the anti-CAB groups and if what BJP president Amit Shah has had to say is taken into account then Conrad Sangma may continue to hog the limelight.

Man of the moment, this was the message that the young Chief Minister of Meghalaya managed to convey as he emerged as the rallying point for the people of the North East, more particularly the political parties which did not see eye to eye with the BJP on the CAB.

The maturity of the young man again came to the fore when the CAB was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha and there was no over the top celebration for remember the NPP, the party which he heads is a partner of the BJP and it is very much a part of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

This is what is expected from a mature leadership.

Likewise no report of over the top celebration came from the Mizo National Front (MNF), despite the fact that apart from Conrad Sangma, it was Zoramthanga who also emerged as a key political leader to strongly oppose the CAB.

The stand of the Chief Ministers of the other North Eastern States was not as vocal as the Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Mizoram, apart from the assertion of Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren putting forth the rider that a clause should be included in the CAB to exempt the North East and Manipur.

That this assertion came after the CAB was passed in the Lok Sabha is another matter but this was the stand of Chief Minister N Biren.

Great moment for the North East.

This was perhaps the only line from Conrad Sangma that made it to the media after the CAB failed to be tabled on the floor of the Rajya Sabha and this is significant.

No thumping of the chest, no victory cry, no exercise in trying to take credit for the CAB not making it to the floor of the Rajya Sabha.

This is what leadership should be about.

On the other hand now with Amit Shah going on record and stating that the CAB will be brought back, if the BJP is voted back to power, what would be the stand of the North East States ?

This is a question that should be raised before the Governments of the North East States and it will be interesting if this question is posed before the BJP led Government at Imphal.

This observation is made in the backdrop of the fact that an impressive welcome was rolled out for the Chief Minister at Hapta Kangjeibung after the CAB failed to make it to the floor of the Rajya Sabha.

More importantly how did the public welcome that was accorded to Chief Minister N Biren go down with the BJP leadership at New Delhi ?

This question is again raised in the backdrop of the fact that the failure to table the CAB on the floor of the Rajya Sabha and thus pass it must have come like a big set back for the BJP and hence the question on the celebration in which the Chief Minister himself participated.

Early days yet, but as noted in an earlier commentary here, the BJP sure seem to have mastered the art of knowing how to milk any situation and this is best exemplified by the announcement of Amit Shah that if voted back to power the CAB will return.

But in what form and will the rider clause suggested by Chief Minister Biren find a place in the fresh Bill if and when it is brought back ?