Dec 6, 2010 to May 30, 2011 ! Yardstick of a leader
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 31, 2011 -

Other than being the first man from outside the Nehru-Gandhi clan to complete a full term in office as Prime Minister of the country as well as putting the country on the track of economic liberalisation from the early 90s, the late PV Narasimha Rao is also remembered for the quote, 'Not taking a decision is a decision in itself.'

This sentence, which has entered the vocabulary of those who need to take decisions at crucial periods, came primarily as a defence mechanism whenever the late Prime Minister was hauled over the fire for dawdling over sensitive issues by his detractors.

Chief Minister O Ibobi does not exactly fall into the 'dawdling' description of a political leader, but the future will definitely remember him as not only the first Chief Minister of Manipur to complete a full term in office (He appears set to complete a second term as well), but also for occasionally shooting himself on his foot, thanks to his penchant to come out with outlandish decisions now and then.

As the leader of the people, Mr Ibobi should have his priorities right. For this he first needs to rejig his inner circle of advisors and acknowledge the point that playing to the gallery may best be left to the others. It not only demeans the chair of the Chief Minister but can also be a blot on the image of the State and by extension her people.

If the test by fire is necessary to decide the purity of a gold, then the true worth of a leader can be tested during times of crisis and Chief Minister O Ibobi has had to undergo this test numerous times but unfortunately no lessons seem to have been learnt, if we go by the series of goof ups committed by the SPF Government.

The Rio debacle has just about blown away and the SPF Government is back on familiar terrain if its petition to the Union Home Ministry to defer the tripartite talk which was supposed to be held on May 30 at Senapati, is anything to go by.

The line of the SPF Government in approaching the Centre to defer the meeting rest on one premise and this is the explanation that the crux of the matter to be discussed at the meeting has not been made clear to them. Since this is their official line, a mention of the agenda to be discussed is perhaps in order.

The tripartite talk, involving Delhi, the State Government and the United Naga Council, centres around the Senapati Declaration of the Naga Peoples' Convention held at Senapati district headquarters on July 1, 2010.

The declaration came in the heat generated by the decision of the State Government to bar the entry of Th Muivah to Manipur as well as the conduct of the election to the Autonomous District Council and the defining point of the declaration was to sever all ties between the Government of Manipur and the Naga people settled in Manipur.

It was after a memorandum was submitted to the Centre by the UNC on September 14, 2010 that the first round of talk was held at Senapati district headquarters on December 3 last year.

The United Naga Council has every reason to feel peeved with the apparently flip-flop stand of the SPF Government. One question that begs an answer is why did the State Government participate in the December 3 dialogue, if it did not know the agenda of the talk ?

More surprisingly is the stand of Delhi, which has been maintaining that the issue raised by the UNC is not yet clear. Is this how the country is run ? Is this how Manipur is run ?

Is it the culture of the Congress to send its representatives to some round of discussions without knowing the crux of the matter that is going to be discussed ? It is real politiks at play here and we may safely assume that the last minute decision of the SPF Government to come out with their version on the talk was necessitated by the Rio debacle.

Chief Minister O Ibobi was obviously under the impression that backing out of the talk by coming up with such a reason was the best way to earn some brownie points from Imphal but as we have noted, playing to the gallery is only a cosmetic measure, which in the long run will only erode his credibility as a leader of the people.

The United Naga Council too need to climb down from its high horse and come to terms with the reality that the State Government needs to be "officially informed" of their demand. Refusing to do this will amount to a bloated sense of self importance or ego coming in the way of a practical approach to the issue at hand.

The issue is delicate, sensitive and crucial to both the Government of Manipur and the UNC and by extension the Naga people of Manipur.

In the light of this reality, no party can afford to treat this matter lightly and coming out with such utterances that the issue is not clear on the one hand and the refusal to submit its report to the State Government through the 'proper channel' is belittling the issue.

Delhi, of course has nothing to lose. Its status as a sovereign Nation will not be compromised, whether the Nagas of Manipur live as a separate political entity or not.

Moreover it does not matter to Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr P Chidambaram and Mrs Sonia Gandhi how the issue is settled, but it does matter to the UNC and the State Government and this is why neither side can afford to triviliase the issue at any cost.

First of all, trash the stand that the issue to be discussed is not clear. Secondly have the humility to go through the official and proper channel. Thirdly, if Mr Ibobi wants to state his stand unequivocally then he should have done so and stated things in black and white, such as the Government of Manipur will not negotiate any demand which seeks to divide the State rather than come out with some juvenile excuses.