To our utmost surprise, the resolution signed by 23 MLAs of the ruling party on Monday under pressure from Youths of Manipur (YoM) said that the MLAs would be proceeding to New Delhi ‘again’ to persuade the central leadership to bring a solution to the current crisis at the earliest. We had earlier questioned the purpose of their frequent trips to New Delhi since the unrest began as they always come back without bringing in hand any tangible solution to the crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi never gives the delegations from Manipur an audience, not to talk of other political parties or civil society groups but even the MLA delegation from their own party and allies. They had to be content with meeting the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, and in that too, the Home Minister does not give anything new except for the age-old assurance of Manipur’s territorial integrity and nothing else.
He does not talk about how to settle the never-ending threat to Manipur’s territorial integrity once for all; rounding up of the armed immigrant infiltrators from Myanmar and sending them back or tightening the border patrol to ward off further infiltration; how to neutralise the writ of powerful drug lords within the territory of India more particularly Manipur; and a broad based mechanism to upend the threat of economic blockades on the national highways. Tragedy is, our own representatives do not talk about these issues which had been persisting since long and thwarting the development activities in the state. So, why do they go to New Delhi so often? To get a pep-talk from Amit Shah.
In early June, the valley MLAs went to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi who shunned them and they had to content with meeting Home Minister Amit Shah. The same assurance of keeping Manipur’s territorial integrity intact was given again and they came back dejected, but acting as if nothing had happened. They went again just before the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi-led government.
Manipur’s unrest rocked the Parliament session and everything overshadowed by the ‘naked parade’ and the Prime Minister had little to say. So again, what is the purpose of going to New Delhi this time? Everyone knows, they would either sit it out at Manipur Bhavan and sulk or go on meeting other notable leaders of BJP. Yes, the BJP leadership is based in New Delhi, the capital city and power-mongers go on regular pilgrimage there to meet and lobby with the different layers of BJP and RSS leadership for either airing their grievances or for political deliverance and patronage.
When BJP first came to power in 2017 in the state of Manipur, state BJP leaders used to say that there is no such thing as High Command culture in BJP like that of Congress. But now, things are becoming clearer. Whatever they say, the buck stops at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Even the party president JP Nadda had been relegated in a position below the two leaders. Both the ministers and the organisational leadership all bow down to the twin leadership. If Prime Minister Modi is on a foreign tour or otherwise busy in other matters like electioneering, Home Minister Amit Shah is always available for consultation. If Amit Shah is somehow busy which rarely happens, everything gets delayed and one has to wait.
As Manipur turned into a war-zone due to the ethnic strife, we had to wait for a month for the Home Minister to personally come down and physically assess the situation. That such a busy person camped in Manipur for three full days was severely emphasised by the state BJP leadership here. But, everyone kept mum on the failure of his mission of bringing peace and ushering a state of normalcy in the state.
