Gunning for those who didn't 'support' : Farcical pronouncements
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 15, 2022 -

This is the pits and maybe it is a classic case of the people getting the type of representatives they deserve.

A point briefly touched here in an earlier commentary but there is the need to let all, particularly the elected gentlemen know, that what they had to say was not at all amusing but was reprehensible.

Soon after they were declared elected in the just held Assembly polls, one of the respected MLAs went on to proclaim in full public view and in front of camera that the people who did not vote for him will not receive any Government assistance that comes in myriad forms.

The other gentleman more or less said the same thing in that he would now not personally extend any help to those who did not vote for him !

Just as everyone thought that things couldn't get more farcical than this, a gentleman defeated in the same Assembly election went on to loudly proclaim that even in defeat he will transfer all those who did not vote for him to the land where the Sun never rises !

If the matter was not so serious, the three gentlemen would have elicited loud guffaws from everyone, but their very pronouncement is a reflection of the sad reality where everything stinks.

Is this the understanding of democracy and election that defines a democracy ?

An elected person is the representative of the whole Constituency and not the representative of only those who supported and voted for him in the election !

And to think that it is these elected individuals who will wear the tag of honourable MLAs and one shudders to even think about the tomorrow of Manipur.

Are these the type of people that Manipur should elect to decide the course of the people and the place for the next five years ?

The vote has been cast, the elected have been sworn in and as said many times in this column, the fate of the people of 60 Assembly Constituencies lie sealed at least for the next five years and this is where the observation, that the people get the type of representatives they deserve gains credence.

One hopes that the farcical outbursts of the honourable elected persons are digested by the people and five years down the line it should not be forgotten.

The elected are sent to office to work for the people and not pick out who backed him or her during the election and give out doles on the basis of 'supporters' and 'those who did not vote for me'.

So even as people await to see who the BJP high command name as the next Chief Minister of the State, the 'entertainment' continues to flow from some of the elected representatives but the unfortunate part is, there is nothing entertaining in the entertainment dished out by them.

Apart from who would be named as the new Chief Minister, another important question is, what is it that people expect from the new BJP Government ?

Will the BJP remember its election manifesto ?

Time will tell this, but importantly how many do remember what all promises the BJP made before voting day ?

Did the poll manifesto influence the voting decision of the people ?

There is enough time and it would be right for the next BJP Government to seriously study what is it that would benefit the people.

First thing should be to ensure that piped drinking water is supplied to all households, at least in Imphal.

This was a promise made in the 2017 election manifesto by the BJP and it should now focus on this point.

A visionary Government, that is what the people would want and where does one want to see Manipur five years down the line ?

As the party now poised to form the Government, the BJP should now focus on this.