Meeyamgi Numit. People’s Day. Perhaps this is the first time that the State Government has decided to keep aside a day for the public to interact with the leaders and officers of the Government and this is something refreshing. As announced by Chief Minister N Biren during the reception programme hosted by the women vendors of Khwairamband Keithel on April 9, the 15th of every month will be set aside as Meeyamgi Numit or People’s Day and this is a refreshing change from the stiff upper lip attitude that usually comes with officialdom or anything that has got something to do with the Government. So it is that all eyes will be on the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers on the first 15th since the announcement and Manipur can certainly expect to see and hear something interesting when 15th April comes, which is a Saturday. More than likely that the announcement of the Chief Minister must have caught the people unaware and it remains to be seen how quickly they manage to gather their thought, sum up what case they want to present to the Government and how much they manage to impress the Chief Minister, the Council of Ministers and the officials with the presentation of their case. It is not yet clear how long the interaction with the people will last, but this is taking things forward. Popular it certainly will be, but care needs to be taken by the Chief Minister and his men to ensure that it does not cross the line and gets reduced to a populist measure.
How effective the new measure is will depend to a large extent on the sincerity of the Government and to be sure there will be hangers on who will be around to fix the wanted meeting with the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers and it is here that extra care needs to be taken to ensure that such elements are kept at a safe distance. Just how successfully the Chief Minister manage to weed out the unwanted hangers on will depend on how well he is able to read the situation. So far the Chief Minister and his men seem to be sending out the right message and this could be seen from the manner in which two Ministers immediately went to Sirarakhong village on receiving information about the tragedy that struck the village some days back. It is also heartening to note that Ukhrul is set to roll out the red carpet for the Chief Minister when he visits the place on April 11. A sharp departure from the previous Government, when any visit by Ministers to the Naga areas was boycotted and a hostile reception always unfailingly greeted them. Chief Minister N Biren fortunately does not have to deal with such a hostile attitude and it is this opportunity that he should not fail to capitalise upon. So come the 15th of this month and one hopes that the Imphal Durbar does not get reduced to the status of political chamchagiri but is meaningful to the people.
Source: The Sangai Express
