The first step to put the State on the track to development is to fix responsibility and make everyone accountable and when we say responsibility and accountability, we do not mean only the Government agencies and employees but everyone, from the political class to the bureaucrats to the teaching community, student organisations, civil society organisations, in fact everyone of us.

The recent decision of the Government to impose a ban on bandhs and blockades and fix responsibilities can be seen against the backdrop of the need to make everyone accountable.

It is not so much a question of whether the ban will be effective or not, but about the spirit behind the order that should be acknowledged.

For too long we have been a people who only know how to demand our rights or privileges without realising that with privileges and rights also come along with a corresponding degree of responsibility and accountability.

So if we expect the traffic police to man the road and control the flow of vehicular movement, we also need to realise that we have a bounden duty to observe discipline and follow traffic rules and regulations.

We may go hammer and tong against the Government for the poor power and water supply system, but on the other hand we should shed the culture of conveniently forgetting to pay our taxes.

As citizens of the largest democracy in the world, we are entitled to our rights and if any attempts are made to violate these rights, then we have every right to protest the action of the State but at the same time, it should be drilled into the heads of the people that they also have a bounden duty as citizens of the land.

For too long, Manipur has been a land where everything is about protests, bandhs, blockades etc without the citizens even bothering to think that they also have responsibilities towards the State.

This is about the general attitude of the people and if we come to the people who are at the helm of affairs the less said the better. For the VIPs and those in the corridors of power, the perks that come along with their status are taken as something given.

Accountability is something which have never existed in their lexicon and the recent drives taken up by some energetic Ministers against recalcitrant officials is a reflection of how immune they have become to something known as responsibility and accountability.

The manner in which the Government acts and respond whenever any crisis hits the State is also very much indicative of how seriously they take accountability and responsibility. At the moment, we see roads being dug up all over Imphal for the grand Sewerage Project.

Nothing wrong in this, but as we had pointed out earlier, there were certain loopholes in the way in which digging up exercise was started.

The question is, has responsibility being fixed for the farce or is the Government content with just the blame game that was played out between two Government Departments ?