What points were put forward ? Questions and questions
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 17, 2024 -

What points did the 8 Meitei MLAs put up before Sambit Patra and the other personalities picked by Delhi during the meeting held at Delhi on October 15 ?

Or rather were they at all given any opportunity to put their stand before Delhi during the brief meeting ?

What were the points that the three Naga MLAs had to say during the brief meeting ?

All questions at the moment and it is unlikely that any answer to the posers raised here would be forthcoming given the fact that even Government spokesperson Dr Sapam Ranjan preferred to give the slip to the media persons by coming out from the departure lounge and not the arrival lounge when he returned from Delhi on October 16, that is one day after the meeting.

Giving the slip to the media and the other point that has been confirmed and which has been reported, at least by The Sangai Express, is the fact that prior to the meeting with the Meitei and the Naga MLAs, Sambit Patra and other officials met the Kuki MLAs separately.

This is clear and what transpired in the meeting between the Central Government representatives and the Kuki-Zo MLAs is also clear, thanks to the circular issued by the Convenor of the Kuki-Zo MLAs, Chinlunthang, MLA of Singngat Assembly Constituency and that is, the call for a Separate Administration was laid clear before the representatives of the Central Government.

Separate Administration is the pre-requisite for any peace dialogue is the line that was laid in black and white before the Central representatives by the Kuki-Zo MLAs.

A clear indication that the Kuki side has not budged an inch from the earlier slogan, ‘Peace Later, Solution First’ which was made to go viral by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU).

Obvious that the Kuki-Zo MLAs have already taken a step ahead of the Meitei MLAs in the sense that they have managed to inform the Kuki people of the points laid before the Central representatives while the Meitei MLAs have not deemed it fit to even utter a word on what was exactly discussed.

Or if it was a case of the meeting being too brief to spell out the stand of Manipur before the Central team, then at least this could have also been spelt out to the public.

So as things stand 24 hours after the Delhi meeting, no one knows if the Meitei MLAs were given the opportunity to spell out the stand of the Meitei folks or not, and the ‘conspiracy’ of silence, best exemplified by the ‘arrived through the departure lounge at the airport,’ has only gone to add more room for conjectures to fly thick and fast and obviously this could not be good for anyone.

Or is it a case of the Meitei MLAs being ‘instructed’ to keep the Meitei people in a state of confusion and uncertainty ?

Call for peace is the point that stood out prominently in the statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) after the meeting but this runs counter to the statement issued by the Kuki-Zo MLAs, who have made Separate Administration a prerequisite for any peace dialogue.

Who is lying here ?

The Central Government, under which the PIB comes, or the Kuki-Zo MLAs ?

This question could have been tackled better if only the 8 Meitei MLAs who attended the meeting had said anything, but with all them shying from commenting anything to the media, speculation is the only course left open before the public.

Not at all healthy, but as many have opined, this is just the beginning and the very fact that the ice could have been broken is a remarkable progress from the earlier days.

No doubt the Delhi meeting itself is a step in the right direction, a point which The Sangai Express had been advocating for long but it still does not answer the question of whether the first meeting has started off on the right note or not.

The meeting itself is a constructive move, but more important than this is to know the points put up before the representatives hand picked by the Centre.

The Kuki-Zo MLAs have already spelt out what they have put across to the team of the Centre, but no one knows what the Meitei MLAs have had to say.

This is what is disappointing, especially in the face of the interests the meeting elicited when it first came to the knowledge of the public.

By all accounts there will be more meetings in the coming days, but one hopes the needed homework is done before any point concerning Manipur is put before Delhi and yes ensure that the same is spelt out to the people.

Afterall any talk held is on behalf of the people and not just the people in positions of power and influence.

This is what should not be forgotten.