Understatement of the year Symptoms of failure
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 03, 2012 -

It has to be the understatement of the year.

Seven people, including five people on poll duty killed at a polling booth in Chandel Assembly Constituency and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram describes the killings as 'bad'.

We are not putting words into the mouth of the Honourable Home Minister, but referring to what came out from his mouth.

This is not all, the Union Home Minister went on to say that the election to the 10th Assembly here has been largely free from violence.

Maybe the spate of bomb blasts, the placing of bombs, the kidnapping of political workers, the open threats and intimidations, the non-chalant manner in which certain candidates and their workers were barred from openly campaigning for the election etc obviously do not come under the understanding of violent incidents in the eyes of the Centre.

The effort to put up a brave face or draw comfort from some ill conceived perception is too blatant.

Or is it a case of saying that violence in Manipur is part and parcel of life and hence nothing extraordinary should be read into the incidents of killings, threats, beatings, kidnappings ? Either way it sucks.

The Home Minister went on to say that the security forces are still here, just so to underline the point that Delhi is seriously concerned about the overall security measures in Manipur, but the presence of security personnel in Manipur is nothing new.

They have been here for decades ! But yet, does the Union Home Ministry know that the State Election Office is already facing a huge dilemma over the question of providing security escorts to the 279 candidates in fray, now that actual polling has been finalised ? If there were enough security personnel, would the CEO and his men be wracking their brains over who should continue to be covered with security escorts and from whom the cover should be withdrawn ? It is already on record that one SSB personnel was killed in a road accident at Nagaland, while they were returning to base (or maybe to a fresh assignment) after election duty here.

In all probability the upcoming Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh could be the reason for the withdrawal of the security personnel from Manipur, but the irony is, the poll process is far from over.

Remember the election code of conduct is still very much in force here.

The submission of the Union Home Minister that the Government has received inputs on the involvement of NSCN (IM) cadres in the election should have come before the seven people, including five on election duty, were killed.

It should have come from the moment when it became clear that campaigning by candidates and workers of political parties not endorsed by the outfit were kidnapped and threatened.

Nothing of that sort happened.

Even at this moment, complaints and petitions of workers, supporters or those who did not kow tow to the diktats of the NSCN (IM) being harassed, thrashed, kidnapped etc continue to pour in and with repoll lined up in 34 polling stations across the hill districts of Manipur on February 4, the task is far from over.

Take note, out of the 34 polling stations named for repoll, 27 fall in areas where the writ of the NSCN (IM) is believed to run large.

Statistics may be dull, it may be nothing more than some cold numbers, but it does not lie.

This should be enough proof and couple this with the admission of the CEO then it should blow away all the smokescreen lit up to mislead the public.

The violence, the threats and intimidations, the bar on open campaigning by candidates and political parties not endorsed by the outfit are all enough indications that not all the people are sold on the idea espoused by a political party ostensibly backed by the powerful outfit.

This is an open admission of defeatism.

An indication that the political mobilisation has failed and hence the strong arm tactics.

It was the same in the valley areas too.

When violence and threats and intimidations are the language adopted in the process of choosing the people's representatives, then it is a damning statement that the initiatives to take the people along with a political line of thought has fallen flat.

In the face of Delhi refusing to take cognizance of the fact that the 'interference' has something much more than just election, the job of the CEO and his men have been made that much more complex and difficult.

The repoll is tomorrow.

Another test awaits.