UNC : Politically coherent : The development divide
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 13, 2012 -

Political coherence is a craft.

And coherence can come about only when one is clear about what one wants. On this point, the United Naga Council cannot be faulted.

They have crossed their Ts and dotted their Is. Not everyone, especially the entities on either side of the Lim divide, possess this.

Coherence is writ large on the manner in which the UNC has been able to find a link between the alleged disparity in the allotment of fund for check drawal authority given under the State Public Works Department and the call for an Alternative Arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur.

In one telling statement issued to the media, the UNC has been able to turn the trump card of the Congress Government on its head and work it to the advantage for the demand of an Alternative Arrangement-equal development for the hills and valley of the State.

It is not only the Government which has been caught on the wrong foot here, but all those who have been under the impression that development should be seen through the prism of the valley and hills.

It is this short sightedness which the UNC has exploited to the fullest and no one can fault them on this count.

Should development of the State and her people be seen through the context of the hills and valley or should development mean development of the whole State and her people ?

A question which will catch many on the wrong foot. Political leaders will talk about equal development for the hills and the valley to score a brownie point or two, but in the ultimate analysis isn't this also an admission that development spawns a divide between the hills and the valley ?

A demand for a white paper on the development works taken up in the hills and the valley after 1972 may be in line here and why not ?

It is also significant to note that the UNC's statement came a day after the All Tribal Contractors' Association, Manipur cried foul and went to the media over the same issue.

So is the UNC batting on behalf of some disgruntled contractors or is it trying to capitalise on a situation ?

For all we know, Cheque Drawal Authority for releasing bills to contractors cannot be equated with the policy and programme of the Government and is at best an arrangement to release pending funds for contract works executed earlier.

It cannot be a permanent arrangement. Perhaps this is where a slip between the lip and the cup may be detected.

What however should be clear is that the UNC has been very clear on what it wants and it has been able to articulate its thoughts in a manner which is comprehensible to everyone.

Between UNC, Imphal and Delhi, it was only the UNC which did not hedge whenever the question of Alternative Arrangement popped up.

Delhi and Imphal on the other hand continue to skirt the issue and from initially trying to pass it off as something inconsequential, today both sides are talking in riddles.

From Home Minister Shushil Kumar Shinde's (in)famous poser to Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, 'What harm is there is giving AA to the Nagas' to the 'written form' alibi which the State Government has been resorting to, both sides continue to twiddle their thumbs.

Craftsmanship on the other hand may not always amount to statesmanship and this is a point which the UNC should not forget too.