A political misfit ?
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: February 07, 2013 -

To describe him as a political misfit in the true sense of the term would be doing a great injustice to his political acumen and experiences.

But that is exactly what Yumkham Erabot, the elected Congress MLA from Wangkhei Assembly Constituency, appears to be. His outspokenness and frequent criticism against the undoing of the Congress Government in the State despite being a part of it is well-known and how these confrontations have led to bad blood with other Congressmen including Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh is an open secret.

But there is always a sense of sanity in his occasional outbursts, whether it is against the alleged failure of the ruling party or the inactiveness of the Opposition party.

People still remember with pride how Erabot, when he was the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, openly accused Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh of not supporting his efforts to resume supply of essential commodities through National Highway 53 ( now 37), while the state was reeling under the crippling impact of economic blockade during May, 2010.

Not surprisingly, it was to a Hero's welcome that Erabot was received by the people when he arrived at the head of over 100 goods laden trucks from Jiribam on May 23, 2010.

The gutsy seasoned politician had even go on record to explain that his frequent criticism against the Government is a testimony to the fact that it is yet to do justice to the mandate given by the public to rule.

In the same vein, the elected representative from Wangkhei Assembly Constituency has been very critical about the failure of the Opposition parties in the State to live up to their duties and responsibilities in a democratic set up, thus giving a free hand to the ruling party to indulge in all sorts of mischief.

In his latest tirade against the Ruling as well as the Opposition, Erabot has maintained that the time has come for him to don the role of an Opposition member since there seems to be no Opposition in the State not just to act as check and balance over the action of the Ruling party but also to question the government of the day and hold it accountable to the public.

With people in the Assembly Constituencies of even the ruling Congress MLAs deprived of the basic and essential services by the State Government, Erabot has resolved to don the role of an Opposition member to raise public issues for debate in the State Assembly.

Moreover, taking serious note over deprivation of electricity to consumers in some parts of his constituency for the last 3/ 4 months despite repeated requests for repairing the power transformer which has got conked, Erabot has also decided to evoke provisions under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 for filing a case in the Consumer Court against the State Electricity Department.

One may simply brushed aside such threats as some political gimmicks to settle score with his arch-rival Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, who is also in charge of Power. But the message conveyed through the threat should be loud enough to be heard by all - public leaders regardless of in which benches they are sitting on should live up to their responsibilities and the expectation of the people who have placed them in the first place.