Manipur move

 

THE resignations of Mr. N Biren Singh as Chief Minister of Manipur and his council of ministers is being viewed by different quarters from different angles. Most of them are political -- ranging from internal rumblings in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State unit to failure of Mr. Singh. However, beyond these political interpretations being attached, the move of his resignation reflects the seriousness with which the Centre is dealing with the ethnic clashes in Manipur.

 

The Centre has tried different ways to tackle the State that has been on the boil for quite a long period. Certain videos and audios going viral contributed to making the atmosphere in the State more tense. Allegations and counter-allegations flew from both the sides -- the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. The two major ethnic groups -- Kukis and Meiteis -- also did not leave any opportunity to hurl accusations of fomenting trouble at one another. Owing to this, the trouble has continued in Manipur, which is an important State in the North-East. The Centre, after initially delayed response, has effected several changes including in the security apparatus in Manipur. Besides, it has tried to reach out to the clashing sides with a proposal that aims at protecting the interests of Manipur as a united community of Indians. Despite this, thanks to certain political forces that appear to be hell-bent on keeping the sensitive State destabilised, issues continued to crop up. Finally, the BJP and the Centre have come on the same page and decided to ask Mr. N Biren Singh to step down. He also has promptly submitted his resignation as well as that of his council of ministers to the Governor Mr. Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

 

The Governor also accepted it. This step reflects the commitment of the BJP-led Central Government to restoring normalcy in Manipur. The resignation of the Chief Minister in the BJP-ruled State exhibits the Centre’s keenness on according more importance to peace and stability in Manipur than the faces that are in power. Unfortunately, similar maturity is not visible in the other parties in opposition. For, if the ruling side is at fault over instability in the State, the leadership of other parties also must own up the failure in discharging their duty in maintaining harmony in Manipur as a responsible force. Obviously, when the Chief Minister of a State resigns, the next question that occupies the centrestage of the public discourse is -- what next? So far, no new name has come up as successor to Mr. N Biren Singh. The most likely step till the next Chief Minister is named, is for the Governor to take control of the situation. This means the Centre can act in a more concerted and apolitical manner to quell the situation in the troubled State. From this point, the resignation of Mr. Singh is an important step.

 

Already, in his resignation letter, Mr. Singh has referred to narco-terrorism, border infiltration, and need for deportation of the illegal immigrants. All these issues can be better dealt with by the Centre. For, it involves external border as well as inter-State operations. Hence, the powers getting vested with the Governor at least for some time is an opportunity for the Centre to initiate crackdown on forces inimical to India. These forces have been taking advantage of the fragile peace in Manipur to foment clashes by way of producing atrocity literature and selective victimhood narratives. Some have been trying to project Manipur’s ethnic clashes as issue needing international intervention. In a way, they questioned territorial integrity of India. Such elements need to be identified in official records and brought to book. Unless these elements are taken care of, any constructive measure from the Centre may not yield the desired result to the fullest extent possible. May the people of Manipur gain from this.