Former BJP spokesman questions Govt achievements
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 02 2022:
Saying that all the Government's actions against smuggling of drugs, corruption and maintenance of law and order are normal duties of a Government and they are part of governance, socio-political commentator and former BJP spokesman Chongtham Bijoy has questioned the achievements of the incumbent Government.
Speaking to media persons today, Bijoy recalled BJP's election promise to transform Manipur into a 'golden land' if they were elected to power with absolute majority.
If one goes by the performance and achievements of the BJP-led Government during the last 160 days, the party has failed to fulfil its election promise, Bijoy remarked.
He said that fixing a base year for ILPS and lifting of disturbed area status from some areas are the only achievements of the Government led by N Biren.
Apart from making an announcement after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second time that neither he nor his families would indulge in any kind of bribery or corruption, an anti-corruption cell was set up.
However, N Biren, while speaking at a public function held at JNIMS, advised one of his MLAs to take commissions from big companies in order to recuperate the huge amounts spent in elections, Bijoy
pointed out.
He then asked whether taking commissions from big companies cannot be counted as corruption.
As per Niti Ayog's Innovative Index, Manipur has 100 per cent backlog of corruption cases.
Again, Manipur is placed at the bottom in terms of submission of charge sheets on corruption cases.
These are indications of the incumbent's unwillingness to eradicate corruption from the State, he said.
If the Government is determined to eradicate corruption, disproportionate assets cases may be registered against a number of corrupt officials.
Ill-gotten money stashed by these corrupt people outside the State should be brought back with the help of ED/CBI, Bijoy said.
While appreciating the Government's War on Drugs, he urged the Government to imprison all those individuals arrested with drugs for at least one year without giving them bail as announced earlier by N Biren.
The Government may carry out an aerial survey of all the places where poppy is cultivated and herbicide may be sprayed from the air to kill the poppy plantations.
This can give a psychological impact to all poppy planters, he said.
He also lamented that Manipur which once occupied second position in the country's literary rate is now occupying the fifth among the North Eastern States and there is not a single college in the State which is listed among the top 200 colleges of the country.
While curtailing the freedom of speech of others, the Chief Minister seems to be enjoying 'unlimited freedom of speech', he said.
Bijoy asserted that the freedom of speech is one of the basic foundations of democracy.