Trivialising politics
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 11, 2014 -

With each passing day, the infighting over leadership in the Manipur unit of Trinamool Congress is becoming more farcical, and one needs to rethink over using words like ‘leadership crisis’ to describe ongoing in the party, because everyone is a leader in this infighting.

After the party, which has six elected legislators to the Manipur Legislative Assembly, was apparently split up into two distinct power groups and almost every known member in the party have staked their claim to the post of the party president, now, it is time for expulsion spree with everyone claiming to have the other expelled from the party.

A day after MLA Th Shyamkumar, who is said to have been appointed to the post of party president following an order supposed issued and faxed by All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) General Secretary Party Derek O’Brien, made an announcement to the media about the expulsion of three party legislators namely Kh Joykishan, O Lukoi and Th Bishwajit from the primary membership of the party for their alleged anti-party activities; the group led by MLA Kh Joykishan as President, which has christened itself as Manipur Pradesh Trinamool Congress and contended that no 'outsiders can appoint MPTC president', has come up to announce the expulsion of MLA Shyamkumar from the party for six years, also on the alleged charge of anti-party activities. Could there be anything more farcical than this?

While it is indeed very unfortunate to see the leaders in the second largest opposition party in the State coming down to such a stage of washing each other’s dirty linen in public, the long-drawn infighting in the party once again revealed the true colour of politicians in Manipur who have scant regard for the public who have given them the mandate.

Fight for leadership and power in any political organisation may be but natural among all classes and creeds of politicians in the country, but what this bunch of elected leaders does not understand is the kind of impression they have created in the mind of the same people who have elected them to the position where they are now.

People have elected them to serve them.

But it seems that these leaders have not only abdicated their duties and responsibilities as elected representatives towards the people who elected them, but also to the democratic principles which they are supposed to uphold and the democratic institutions of which they are supposed to be guardians.

More importantly, they have reduced a political party, which could shake and rumble the citadel of power at New Delhi to a mere organisation filled with some power hungry political wannabes who could never come out of their own respective Assembly Constituencies, if they were ever lucky enough to be re-elected, forget playing any significant role in the State politics or expanding their political horizon or vision for the betterment of a State or a Nation.

It is too trivial even for politics in their own neighbourhood, if not in their own family.