A strong Opposition is healthy : Complements each other
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 13 2018 -

A responsible Government. A responsible Opposition.

These two together can go a long way in taking the State to the path of progress and development.

Fortunate it is that so far the Congress is doing its job of being a responsible Opposition, picking holes when it matters in the armoury of the BJP led Government without actually punching below the belt.

This point should not be lost on those who sit on the Treasury.

To the BJP, its primary objective may be Congress Mukt, but to the people, it would be a strong Government plus a strong Opposition and at the moment, the BJP led Government and the Congress as the principal Opposition seem to be doing their job.

So in as much as there is the need for Manipur to have a strong Government, it also stands that a strong Opposition complements a strong Government.

It is this point which should not blow over the heads of the people, people who are concerned with the education of their kids, the safety of their near and dear ones and the opportunity for the hard working people to rise.

The calling card of the BJP has been its anti-corruption stance, but it is important for all the BJP leaders in the State to remember that its stand against corruption should be because corruption is evil and bleeds everyone and not because it feels that corruption is synonymous with the Congress.

A responsible Opposition that is what the Congress ought to work towards and while it has done its job as the principal Opposition so far, the oldest political party in the country should look beyond merely coming out with charges and allegations against the BJP led Government, but also work out a roadmap to show where it wants to see Manipur, say 10 or 15 years down the line.

An Opposition free Manipur can never be good for the people, though this might be what the BJP would like.

Fortunately the Congress is awake to the situation and surely it must have learnt a lesson or two from the past, especially after the 2012 Assembly election when there was no virtually no Opposition, either in the Assembly or outside.

From winning 42 out of the 60 Assembly seats that went to polls in 2012, it increased its strength to 47 when 5 MLAs elected as MSCP candidates merged with the Congress.

Ironic it is, but it was only Kh Joykisan who was then in the Opposition, first representing the Trinamool Congress and later the BJP, who rose as the most vocal and effective Opposition to the Congress.

That he joined the Congress just before the 2017 Assembly election is another matter, but the fire in him is still raging and today he has emerged as one of the more vocal voices from the Opposition bench.

The BJP led Government too must take the presence of a strong Opposition as its strength for remember the two complement each other, in so far as governance is concerned.

The bottomline is, it is a strong Opposition which keeps the Government on its toes and an alert Government can only mean something good for the people.

The ruling front can and should never be understood without referring to the Opposition and the two should complement each other.