Step down nudge to political appointees : Art of clinging to the chair
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 27, 2025 -

Not exactly a rap on the knuckle but it is something definitely more than a nudge and why not ?

N Biren put in his paper as the Chief Minister of Manipur on February 9 and President’s Rule followed and the Assembly was kept under a state of suspended animation on February 13.

Now after more than 40 days of the Assembly being suspended, the BJP high command feels the need to take things into its own hands and ask all those occupying positions of power and influence as political appointees to step down.

The rule book may not necessarily say that political appointees should step down once a popular Government is suspended, but there is something called convention and to many it came as no surprise that the Central high command felt it necessary to ask the appointees to put in their papers.

In all probability Raj Bhavan could have taken the initiative to ask the incumbents to step down, but it is now more than clear that it needed proddings from the high command to remind the concerned of what convention is all about and definitely democracy to a certain extent goes by conventions.

India and certainly Manipur is no exception to this.

Now as things have emerged there are at least 16 MLAs and State BJP office bearers who in one way or the other are enjoying the perks and pelfs of being appointed to different corporations and boards and other than the drain on the State exchequer this also talks about the sense of appropriateness, the public etiquette of holding public office.

Now that the high command of the saffron party has sent a ‘gentle reminder’ to all such appointees to give in their papers, one can expect a flurry of resignations to follow suit.

This is about appropriate behaviour and etiquette. And to think that some of the posts do enjoy the status and perks of Cabinet Ministers and things should be more than clear that there are some who are not ready to let go of their positions, even though conventions lay down that they should step down once the popularly elected Government has given way to President’s Rule.

Says something unpleasant about anything that is closely or otherwise associated with what is primarily understood as ‘power politics’ and this is disservice to Manipur in a very significant way.

Or is it a case of the power and pelf that come with the positions they occupy blinding them to the circumstances under which President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur ?

Should say something profound about the overall culture that has come to define politics, the politics of power, privileges and the perks that come along with a position that one occupies.

While power, privileges and perks are things that humans aspire for, these should also come with a sense of appropriateness, a sense of dignity and it should say something profound that a number of eminent personalities, who all occupy a certain position in society need to be told to give up office.

An act that should have come from their own volition without any push or nudge from anyone.

Resignations are expected as the call to do the same has been given wide publicity, at least by The Sangai Express, and the question that arises is, why a situation should have been created in the first place to make such things a piece worth giving prime space as a news item.

A disturbing thought it is that the need to raise such a question should be felt at all. Manipur certainly does not need this.

Even as this commentary is being written down, there is nothing to suggest that Manipur is moving in the right direction.

The highway still remains cut off to the Meiteis or anything that has got something to do with Manipur.

No Meitei would feel safe to travel along NH-2 and no Kuki would feel safe to return to the place they once called home at Imphal.

Thousands continue to languish in the different shelter homes set up across the length and breadth of Manipur and remember even a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court was told not to visit Churachandpur.