MU, border pillar, Citizenship Bill : Tackling the issues
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 28 2018 -

A big no to the Citizenship Bill. This is from the Congress and the UNC.

JAC’s cease work strike completes 90 days and still on with no sign that a truce may be inked any day soon.

Stand off at Manipur University still on with no indications that Vice Chancellor Professor Adya Prasad Pandey will throw in the towel.

Border row with Myanmar at Moreh.

Framework Agreement still kept a highly classified information with no one here seeming to know what it is all about while the peace talk between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) continues without any hitch.

These are the issues which must be weighing on the mind of the BJP led Government and while it stands that the BJP Government at Imphal cannot do anything except the cease work strike launched by the JAC of AMTUC and AMGEO, it still stands that these are all issues which can rock the boat of the BJP led Government.

The question is, which issue should the Government give top priority to ?

This is a question which the Government must have already asked itself but given the sensitive nature of all the issues, the question of top priority should not ideally arise.

The border row with Myanmar and the political negotiations between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India basically revolve around the territorial sanctity of Manipur.

The MU stand off is more about a place of learning and about the future of thousands of students while the cease work strike is more about a question of how the Government is supposed to work or function when its employees stay away from work, demanding that the 7th Pay be implemented in line with the pre-poll promise delivered by the BJP.

That it did not do the BJP led coalition Government any good when the Deputy Chief Minister bluntly told representatives of some Government employees that the 7th Pay was a promise made by the BJP while the present Government is a coalition Government some time back is clear.

There is a lesson to be learnt from this and that is for all the political parties in the coalition Government not to pass the buck but to take a collective stand.

Having said this, how will the State Government intervene and help defuse the crisis at Manipur University ?

It stands that since MU is a Central university, the State Government cannot do much but it still has a responsibility for the future of thousands of students studying at the varsity and it stands that this is not the way a university should be run and managed.

Has the State Government got in touch the Union HRD Ministry over the issue ?

At the moment these are all questions for so far there has been no development at MU apart from the fact that MUSU, MUTA and MUSA are still adamant in their demand that the VC should be removed, while the VC has not given any indication of bowing down to their demand.

In such a case what is the stand of the Centre ?

This question is important for what one here is talking about is the future of thousands of students.

Moreover what is the stand of the State Government ?

What inputs will it provide to the Centre if and when its opinion is sought ?