By M C Arun
The political drama in Manipur is full of claims and counterclaims. The situation of a claim and its counterclaim is becoming part of today’s Manipur. It is obviously seen often in related to the insurgency and its movements. The best example is the ceremony to mark group surrender. The ‘home coming ceremonies’ are celebrated, now and then, by Assam Rifles. The same is labeled as ‘surrender-drama’ by the insurgent groups. The news of such home coming ceremonies is widely covered by all forms of mass media. In such celebration, ministers and police officers take the opportunities to address the people on the issues of insurgency, development, non-violence and peace talks. On the other hand, the ambush or any other achievement of insurgent groups are dubbed by government or Assam Rifles as cheap propaganda; sometimes, the occurrence of such events had been denied. The rule of the game is that: if one comes from enemy’s camp it is home-coming; and if one goes out from the camp he is a deserter. Such game of claim and counterclaim is also seen in political circles too. The recent claims and counterclaims among the local leaders of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – now and then – are just reincarnation of old habits of politicians. The people of Manipur do not listen and take seriously the claims of either Radhabinod or Ibomcha. Such claim and counterclaim are like a rigid plot of drama; the characters may change, the plot would remain unchanged. Such exercise among the politicians will not lead to any political or legal action on the ‘wrong doer’. The headline mongers and their verbal claims and counterclaims are becoming just a ritual. This does not give any new information to the people; nor does it socialize the people. The people do not give much attention to such cases. We understand the political values of such dialogue.
During general election of State Assembly and Gram Panchayat, the drama of claims and counterclaims is seen. A few residues of such drama is still seen in the claims and counterclaims of Public Distribution System in some Assembly segments. The people enjoy these dramas as the State has no good place for leisure. They generate strong heat among the party workers or followers of ‘local heroes’. This is not new in Manipur. And there will be many such stories in the near future too.
News over the claims and counterclaims of State Assembly is still in the air. It is continuation of the hectic debate over the appointment of a few officers in the State Assembly Secretariat. The drama is slightly different from the ones involving military action of militant and military personnel; and is different from the politicians’ episode as well. The appointment of one Under Secretary in Manipur Legislative Assembly is in the limelight of the drama. The claims are mainly around the OBC status of already appointed person, “Kumari” Thokchom Nivedita Devi. The claims, circulated in the newspapers, told us that the person was wife of present speaker; she was selected before he became Speaker, no doubt. At the time of appointment, her husband was the Deputy Speaker in the same Legislative Assembly. The question is not over the appointment process, but over the OBC status of the person in question. She produced her OBC certificate, according to the news. She did not mention her husband’s occupation; not even of her father. She is daughter of late Thokchom Nabakumar, former MLA. Can the spouse of an elected person take the benefit of OBC quota in any appointment? Does not she belong to creamy layer? Or is she so backward that she does not know what creamy layer is? This was the claim. The counterclaims were issued by one Y Indira Devi, Secretary, Manipur Legislative Assembly. Fine. The counterclaim asserts that there was nothing wrong in the appointment process. The candidate applied for OBC quota and the application was supported by a certificate. The counterclaim further narrates the certificate was checked and found correct. This does not answer vital questions in controversy. Whether does she belong to creamy layer or does the issuing authority overlook the fact of being spouse of an elected person or does the issuing authority knowingly overlook the fact for one reason or another? The loophole in the counterclaim is that Y Indira Devi does not know the clutch of the claims which are counterclaimed by her. The issue is not that the appointee is MSc or BSc or Ph D degree holder; the issue is not over her qualification for being Under Secretary. The issue is of issuing OBC certificate without proper verification and enjoying the benefits given to OBC candidates by producing such a certificate by a person who belongs to creamy layer. The issue is of her deliberate silence on her social and economic status. The issue is of the non-examination of her status by the issuing authority. When something goes wrong, the issue is to whom the responsibility should be fixed and by whom. Unfortunately, the counterclaim did not mention anything about her OBC status; maybe Y Indira Devi is not competent authority. This is the tragic part of the drama.
These claims and counterclaims will vanish into the blue. Assembly appointment case and its news will become one of the forgotten cases in Manipur in due course of time. The people are too busy in their private lives; no one will look into the cases, even the Government of Manipur will bother such a case of claims and counterclaims. Even on the floor, the issue could not be resolved amidst personal attacks and quotations of rules. The first claimant who claims that something went wrong in Assembly appointment may not refute the counterclaims of the Secretary. He might have been satisfied with the first exposure. However, the trust in public institutions has been lost. The dignity of the House is at the stake. The image created in the minds of the people of how the appointments are made in Manipur shapes their political views. It is not the news but the background of major news events which is more important for the future course of democratic exercises in Manipur. The people have several such images in their mind. The images formed during the appointment of VDF to the MCS should not be taken lightly; these images are the foundation of people’s discontent. This creates a negative motivation to the younger generation. If one can play the game in the existing rules, he is one of the Chosen Ones; if not, either he withdraws from the system as drug addict or tries to set new rules with naked power. The discontent among the people in the existing ideology is mainly due to these vulgar images of State system in their minds. If you cannot wash it out, the State will face ugly turns of the discontent.