Obstinately silly or immense clout : Falling on deaf ears
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 30 2018 -

Either he is just being obstinately silly or else he enjoys such a clout that he has deemed it fit to ignore the summons served by the two men inquiry committee, refusing to appear even once, after the committee was set up following the Memorandum of Agreement inked on August 16, between the university community, represented by MUTA, MUSU and MUSA, representatives of the Ministry of Human Resource Development in the presence of the State Government.

The name AP Pandey will continue to ring a bell and for all the wrong reasons.

October 29, 2018 was the date he was supposed to appear before the two men inquiry committee, but for reasons best known to himself, AP Pandey has refused to acknowledge the summon order.

The committee went the extra mile to announce the date, widely publishing the same in the leading newspapers of Imphal, but more than evident that the man from Varanasi cares two hoots about it.

Is it a case of AP Pandey giving two hoots about the summons served by the inquiry committee or is it a case of the immense political clout he enjoys, is the question that follows ?

Either way the posture of AP Pandey will not stand the BJP in good light, especially in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections and if the Centre stands this line, then the most the people can say is, let it be and wait for the right time.

The question is, why isn’t the MHRD doing anything to ensure that he appears before the committee ?

Or was the committee set up just to placate the university community and let the matter fizzle out ? An answer to this poser is in line.

Not clear what role the Administrator, Jarnail Singh can have in the present case but it is more than clear that the understanding of the inquiry committee has been reduced to some sort of a joke.

Why is the former VC of the varsity refusing to come and meet the inquiry committee ?

Should the situation be allowed to fester this way ? Things cannot be allowed to go on like this for ever.

MU is a Central university no doubt, and the hands of the State Government may be tied, but isn’t refusing to come here and face the inquiry committee beyond MU ?

This is where the State Government should study what it can do to ensure his appearance before the inquiry committee.

Get in touch with the Centre. Urge them to crack the whip and ensure the presence of AP Pandey before the inquiry committee.

There cannot be a question of entertaining any line of thought justifying that AP Pandey may be reluctant to come here.

It was an agreement, an MoA which was inked to resolve the MU crisis and it is only right that no effort is spared to ensure that all concerned stick by it.

The BJP as a political party certainly cannot afford to let the matter linger any longer.

Should its reputation be allowed to be held to ransom by an individual no matter how close he is to the power centre ?

A reflection on this poser is in line for challenging the MoA will amount to challenging the people of Manipur and the BJP as a political power certainly cannot afford such a stand off.

Crack the whip and ‘persuade’ AP Pandey to appear before the inquiry committee.

The probe panel should not be reduced to a joke. This is the bottomline.