Securing future for the next 1000 years
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 29, 2023 -
IN a signal that could be seen as indicative of the things to come in the restive northeastern Indian state of Manipur, three sitting MLAs of Manipur Legislative Assembly have been appointed as new chairmen of different Assembly Committees by replacing three dissident MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Chin community.
As per a bulletin issued by Secretary of Manipur Legislative Assembly K Meghajit on November 22, Mao Assembly Constituency MLA Losii Dikho has been appointed as chairman of the Committee on Government Assurance in place of Haokholet Kipgen, who got elected from Saitu Assembly Constituency and Lamlai Assembly Constituency MLA Khongbantabam Ibomcha has been appointed as chairman of the Library Committee in place of MLA Vungzagin Valte, who got elected from Thanlon Assembly Constituency.
Moreover, as per No. 20, Part-Ill of the same bulletin, MLA of Kakching Assembly Constituency Mayanglambam Rameshwar Singh has replaced MLA LM Khaute, who got elected from Churachandpur Assembly Constituency, as chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings.
Coming at a time when there is mounting pressure from the opposition parties and some sections of the society for disqualification of the 10 MLAs belonging to Kuki-Chin communities, who have not only openly denounced the leadership of the BJP-led state government Under Chief Minister N Biren Singh but also raised the demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Chin people, one may wonder whether this is a conscious decision or just another political tactic of pacification to stifle the voices of dissent against the alleged failure of the government to find a solution and put an end to the nearly seven-month long ethnic conflict between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities that has roiled the tiny state since May 3 last.
If it was a conscious decision, then, the question anyone would like to ask naturally is why the BJP government in the restive state has taken so long to act against the 10 Kuki-Chin MLAs, seven of whom are from its own party and include two cabinet ministers, two from Kuki People's Alliance and one Independent.
Of the three Kuki-Chin MLAs who have been removed from their respective posts as chairmen of different Assembly Committees, Vungzagin Valte is the only thorough BJP MLA, while Haokholet Kipgen is an Independent MLA and LM Khaute got elected on the ticket of Janata Dal (United) but later joined BJP along with four other party MLAs against whom at least two petitions, one filed by Congress party in the tribunal of Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker and another filed by Janata Dal (United) Manipur unit in the high court of Manipur seeking disqualification are pending.
Moreover, as the only genuine BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte is currently undergoing treatment outside the state in a critical condition after a mob attack on him during the initial stage of the violent conflict, his removal is understandable.
So, technically speaking, the Chief Minister N Biren Singh-led BJP Government has not done anything substantial that could quell the voices of dissent of the opposition parties and other groups that are critical of its inability to act against own party MLAs who are equally responsible for the current turmoil in the state, even if they were not the ones who are directly training guns on the innocent villagers and farmers in the peripheries and foothill areas.
Nonetheless, for anyone who is able to read in between the lines, it should not be so difficult to understand the changes that are likely to take place in the political landscape of the state in the days to come when Chief Minister N Biren Singh posed how can all the secret plans and strategies be disclosed if one were to fight a war and called upon the people for enduring the suffering brought on by the current conflict for some more time so that the future generations could live with dignity for the next 1000 years.
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