Congress scripting its own demise : Crumbling under its own weight
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 12 2020 -

A strong Opposition this is what the people want but with the Congress beginning to crumble under the weight of it own Judases, it is obvious that it will not have the numerical strength to keep the BJP led Government on its toes.

The loser here can only be Manipur, but then again which political party has sincerely worked for the welfare of the people and the place ?

A look at the maths will make things more clear to get a perspective of the ugly political reality.

The Congress did well in the 2017 Assembly elections, winning 28 seats to emerge as the single largest party in the House of 60 members.

Even as politicking picked up speed in the run up to Government formation, one Congress MLA switched sides, backing the BJP led front and went on to become a Minister in the coalition Government.

That the said MLA resigned with his disqualification coming simultaneously did not have much of an impact on the overall mentality of the elected members of the House stands clear and this was more than demonstrated with four more Congress MLAs who are believed to have thrown their weight behind the BJP led Government disqualified from the State Assembly by the Speaker's Tribunal just before election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat was held on June 19.

The ghost of the Rajya Sabha election continued to haunt the Congress and the show cause notice served on two Congress MLAs for not backing the Congress picked candidate has today evolved into an open statement issued by one of the MLAs wherein former Chief Minister and present leader of the CLP 0 Ibobi came under scathing criticism.

Throw in the no confidence motion sought by the Congress against the BJP led Government and the script seems ready to sink the oldest political party into further oblivion, with six more Congress MLAs resigning from the Assembly.

Resign from the Congress is also another step the six MLAs have announced.

Clearly the days do not seem to be bright for the Congress and in the midst of all this is the persona of O Ibobi, who has scripted a history of sort by becoming the first man to be the Chief Minister of Manipur for the longest period of time with 15 years on the trot.

What went wrong with the Congress in Manipur is now the question all those associated with the party should introspect into sincerely.

What are the plans to neutralise the BJP which seems to have gone from strength to strength not only in Manipur but all over the country, is one line of thought that the oldest political party should study sincerely.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the whole episode is O Henry, who is closely related to the former Chief Minister.

The personal equation between the two is best left for them to work out, but it is surprising that a seasoned political figure like O Ibobi has not been able to take the young MLA along with him.

The new developments are also clear pointers that the Congress do not have it in them to be a constructive Opposition, with many of its elected members unable to come to terms with the fact that they have to sit on the Opposition.

That a party of the late Rishang Keishing, RK Dorendra and others should be reduced to its present state is what makes it all that more pathetic, the script being written by its own men.