Now after the publicity blitzkrieg of completing 100 days in office comes the test.
To be sure Chief Minister N Biren and the coalition partners in the BJP led Government must have rolled up their sleeves to meet the challenges ahead, but it certainly will need political dexterity and maturity to deal with some of the issues.
The issues obviously date back to the days of the Congress Government and here it will be interesting to see how the new Government goes about dealing with the issues.
One obviously is the renewed call of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) to the State Government to prepare a Bill that will regulate the influx of non-local people into the soil of Manipur and another is the ongoing dialogue with the United Naga Council (UNC) on the district creation issue.
While the JCILPS has made it clear that a renewed stir will start from September to pile the pressure on the Government, the UNC has not stepped down from its earlier stand that the decision to create the seven new districts should be reviewed and rolled back.
It is here that the JCILPS and the UNC too need to study certain points before it launches its onslaught on the Government.
The JCILPS may have deliberated upon this question a long time back, but a fresh look may be needed to study why Churachandpur erupted in such a protest against the three Bills which were passed by the State Assembly on August 31 in 2015.
Now that the Churachandpur JAC has been convinced to claim the bodies of the eight people which have been lying in state since 2015, it is only right that they spell out what was so objectionable in the three Bills passed in 2015.
What were the points that made the three Bills ‘anti-tribals’, as the Churachandpur JAC dubbed them ?
Now is perhaps the time for the Churachandpur JAC to spell this out to the people or if they have pointed out the points they are against, then it is only right that the State Government spells that out too.
The JCILPS also need to study why the demand to check the influx of non-local people into the State was largely seen as a valley centric movement.
Why can’t steps be taken up to involve the hill based civil society organisations on the ground that what is being sought is for the good of everyone and not only for certain section of the people.
In drafting any proposal to be submitted to the Government, why can’t the hill based CSOs be involved, their thoughts and opinions sought ?
Moreover why can’t the hill based organisations also chip in with their thoughts and ideas ?
The JCILPS may also explore the suggestion of demanding such a Bill only for the valley area, for as things stand now, the hills are already Constitutionally protected and no non-tribals can buy landed properties there.
But this still does not address the question of the avenues to earn a living.
The coming days may be stormy and if not tackled prudently the BJP led Government will have its hands full for while the valley area may be rocked by the demand raised by the JCILPS, the hills too may not remain silent if no conclusive answer is found in the negotiations with the UNC.
The real test for the BJP led Government may start any day soon.
Source: The Sangai Express
