Change of guard at Delhi and its impact here : The honeymoon period is over ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 03 , 2014 -

When Delhi sneezes, Imphal catches a cold.

This is a cliche’, no doubt, but the profundity of this observation cannot be lost on anyone.

And so it is that for over 10 years, 12 to be more precise, Imphal has had a sort of a honeymoon with Delhi, especially after 2004, when the Congress led UPA Government came to power at the Centre, after the Congress came to power at the head of the SPF coalition in Imphal in 2002.

With the BJP led NDA passing the strident anti-defection Bill before it relinquished office after the 2004 Parliamentary election, stability was ensured for the Congress led Government or to be more accurate for Chief Minister O Ibobi and so it is that for the last 12 years or so, Manipur has seen and experienced a political stability, the type that was never ever seen before.

No more camps and certainly not a voice of dissent, though there may have been voices of discontentment from time to time, but at best those have been murmurs.

Along with stability came financial improvement. Overdraft and salaries for Government employees no longer became news for the Imphal based dailies.

This meant that the Congress Government here was able to take up a number of projects, though these can by no means be benchmarks for governance.

Now with a new political formation coming to power at Delhi, will things be the same, especially on the financial front ?

True there is the Planning Commission, which decides the share of the State, based on resources, its financial prudence and other factors, but will the Union Finance Ministry be ready to stretch its purse for the other needs of the State ?

Again it should also stand that the Planning Commission is constituted by the Government of the day and surely the Government will have a say in how the Planning Commission prioritise its plans, though it may not be overt.

With a rejuvenated State BJP unit, despite the growing voices of dissent within, there are bound to be voices raised against the ‘financial mismanagement’ of the Congress Government here, and while the former dispensation led by the Congress may have taken a benign view of such charges and accusations, there is no guarantee that the new Government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would take such a benign view.

This is all that more true given the fact that he seems ready to send out the message that he is here to do a job, under the slogan, ‘Less Government, More Governance.’

This is where Chief Minister O Ibobi and his men need to tread carefully.

So far there is no indication that the massive mandate it received at the election to the 10th Assembly has been transformed into governance. Many of the projects still remain in a state of limbo.

One does not have to point out to the Inter-State Bus Terminus or the City Convention Centre, which were inaugurated amid much hype by none other than the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi before the election code of conduct for the 10th Assembly election came into force to back this argument. So is the Imphal Sewerage Project.

As pointed out by a reader a few days back, there is nothing to suggest that the Imphal Sewerage Project will be a success or a workable project, pointing out many technical errors and shortcomings. The reader seemed to know what he was talking about.

And it would do good for all to remember that this said project has been in the stage of ‘construction’ for the past ten years.

The message from Delhi should be clear to the political leadership of the State.

Time for the Government, especially Chief Minister O Ibobi to come to terms with the reality that mere talks about development will not be enough.

The Congress Government will need to do more than just talk about the Look East Policy and Integrated Check Post at Moreh.

It will also need to invest its thinking prowess and energy on the Imphal-Jiribam rail track and not just be satisfied by resting on the premise that it is a National project.

Time to look for new investments and explore more trade avenues not only with the eastern neighbours but also with the other States. Time to develop infrastructures that will stand the test of time.

In the last 12 years, a meeting with the Central leaders sufficed in convincing them that Manipur needs more funds, but that day may no longer be so. In short, the honeymoon may just be over.