Cabinet meet outside Imphal : Taking all on board
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 15 2017 -

Hill Leaders’ Day on the 10th of every month. People’s Day on the 15th of every month. Cabinet meeting in the district headquarters by turn.

All women markets in the hill district headquarters.

Clearly the BJP led Government is sending out the message that it wants to do something more than the earlier Congress Government which ruled the State for three consecutive terms, in effect for 15 years on the trot.

Not bad, judging by the manner in which people have responded so positively to the initiatives taken up by the Government and just rewind to the days in May when the Shirui Lily Festival was held at the State level from May 16 to 20 this year.

This was followed by the Barak Spring Festival at Senapati and now a Cabinet meeting at Churachandpur.

Looking beyond Imphal and this is something which The Sangai Express has been advocating for years and questioning why the then State Government could not break free from its Imphal centric approach.

Other than looking beyond Imphal, this is also an effort to take the people along and all these measures will surely go do good to the image of Chief Minister N Biren and his men.

The report of the Cabinet meeting at Churachandpur is yet to come in, at the time this commentary is being jotted down, but this is perhaps the first time that a Cabinet meeting has been held outside Imphal.

Intrinsic in this new approach is the point that the Government is keen to maintain transparency as much as it can.

One only hopes that these new measures do not end up as an exercise in playing to the gallery with an eye on earning some brownie points.

It is this which the Biren Singh Government should be wary of.

Already the hopes of the people are riding high, especially the hopes of the people of the hill districts and much will depend on how the Government proceeds.

As stated numerous times in this column, the next round of talk with the United Naga Council can be taken as its first real test.

In as much as it is a challenge, it is also the perfect opportunity for the Government to demonstrate that all the steps it has initiated ever since it came to power are not some exercise in scoring mere brownie points.

A seasoned politician that he is, Chief Minister N Biren will surely know the politics of pulls and pushes and there will come a time when he needs to show that the Government is here to deliver the goods and not merely please all.

Cabinet meeting held outside Imphal and that too in Churachandpur, which was in turmoil just recently, will surely go a long way in sending out the message that the Government is keen to take everyone on board.

How it manages to keep the boat floating without capsizing due to over loading with all the people’s hope will rest on the political acumen of the leaders of the BJP led Government.

Much will also depend on how the BJP manages to take the coalition partners along without diluting its stand to serve the larger interest of Manipur.

Interest of Manipur, this is of prime importance to all.