Eyes of Manipur fixed on Sep 15 : First 100 days of Modi 3.0
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 14, 2024 -

The irony would not have been lost on anyone, but here is a case of Manipur being in a state of war for over 500 days but the fixation of the people who matter seems to be on the first 100 days of Modi 3.0.

This is precisely the reason why Manipur is not surprised in being bombarded by news and developments that seem to centre on the first 100 days of the Prime Minister in his third consecutive stint in office.

The die was set the moment Manipur featured in the list of 'to do' things in Modi's first 100 days in office and this is precisely the reason why even BJP MLA from Thangmeiband Assembly Constituency Kh Joykisan had publicly pinned his hope on the 100 days benchmark.

And it is along this line that The Sangai Express came out with the report under the heading 'Change of leadership on the card ?' on September 5 and datelined Imphal, September 4.

The visit of BJP National spokesperson and BJP co-ordinator of North East, Sambit Patra to take a first hand account of the situation in Manipur gave the perfect push to the build up of the story under the said heading for Patra, an old hand on Manipur, met not only the State BJP leaders at Imphal but also went to Moreh and made a direct assessment of the ground reality there.

Who he met during his Moreh trip could not be officially confirmed, as the report mentioned, but it is significant to note that in arriving at Manipur to take a first hand account of the situation, Sambit Patra thought it appropriate to visit Moreh while his scheduled visit to Churachandpur and Kangpokpi was cancelled and his visit to Manipur was also cut short.

Interesting visit it was, given that Patra was reportedly deputed here by no one less than Union Home Minister Amit Shah and while this visit is a sort of a demonstration that Delhi did send one of its trusted men here, nothing is known on the briefings he gave the Union Home Minister after he went back to Delhi.

From the foothill villages to the likely political developments, via the first 100 days, the focus of Manipur and her people continues to change according to the issues or points which are deemed to be more current.

And it is the development on the political front that is deemed to be important at the moment for September 15 is just two days away.

Delhi may or may not stick by the spirit of including Manipur in the list of 'to do' things in the first 100 days in office but this has not stopped the interest of the people on this landmark day, for rightly or erroneously, Delhi is seen as the place of importance in so far the current ethnic clash between the Meiteis and the Kukis is concerned.

And why not? Isn't this the reason why many had to come out on the streets and even submit a representation to the Governor to demand that the Unified Command should be handed back to the Chief Minister., a thing which only Delhi can do?

September 15 or first 100 days of Modi 3.0 and already speculations are doing the round if one goes by yet another report in The Sangai Express under the heading, 'Speculations do the round, Thambal Shanglen under lock'.

The BJP has already clarified that its office was never kept under lock and explained that the sparsh gathering there was due to the imposition of curfew.

Moreover there is no question of the State Assembly being kept under a spell of animated suspension, as reported in this newspaper, said the general secretary of the State unit BJP, while addressing media persons.

The Sangai Express acknowledges the clarification from the saffron party, yet at the same time, it would do good for the party in power to question why such speculations have started doing the round.

The first 100 days in office of PM Modi is obviously one reason and second is the fact that even after more than 500 days, Manipur is nowhere near the understanding of normalcy.

All it would need is a spark here or there for Manipur to go up in flames once again and it could be anywhere.

Imphal is still under curfew and the place looks like a fortified place, representing a picture that brings to mind one of the earlier WWII films from Hollywood!