Tea with Duggal
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: April 12, 2014 -

Governor VK Duggal interacting with Editors of various media houses in the state :: Pix - Hueiyen Lanpao

From BK Nehru, the first Governor of Manipur who was in office from January 21, 1972 to September 20, 1973 to the incumbent Governor Vinod Kumar Duggal, who took over the office on December 31 last year, Manipur has seen the coming and going of 14 administrative heads since attainment of statehood.

If not for efficiency in the administration of the State as its Constitutional head, each of these Governors who were appointed under Article 155 by the President of India has always left their own marks in one way or the other while in Manipur.

If some of them were known for their overtly love of art and cultural heritage of the State and made it a point to visit the RKCS Art Gallery at Keishamthong first thing after swearing as the new Governor, some others were known for their eagerness to meet and interact with the people and never left a chance to that even if they had to go to extra mile in the far flung areas for inaugurating any newly constructed structures, be it a bus waiting shed.

In between these two extremes, there were also Governors who were known for releasing beautifully written press statements and speeches delivered at any functions and they too never led a chance to go by without issuing greetings to the people on the occasion of any festivals or celebrations of which there is no dearth in Manipur.

Like other Governors who set their foot before him but unlike any of them, the incumbent Governor Vinod Kumar Duggal would also surely go down in the administrative history of the State, if not for anything, but for his regular invitation to media persons for a ‘brief interaction’ over a cup of tea at the sprawling lawn or the opulent visitors’ room of the Raj Bhavan.

In other words, this opening up of gate as well as doors of Raj Bhavan to State media for discussion on various issues of the State over a cup of tea is something none of his predecessor, who rather preferred to remain confined securely within the fortified complex of the Raj Bhavan fortress, had ever done or, perhaps, never thought of. With his vast knowledge and experiences, first, in the service of Indian Army taking part even in the 1971 war to liberate Bangladesh and later as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer serving in various capacities upto the level of Additional Secretary, Director General, Special Secretary of various Ministries of the Government of India, the eagerness of the incumbent Governor to share his ideas and opinions on issues conflicting the State with media persons and then to learn something in return is all evident and we appreciate that.

This innovative idea of ‘Çhai Pe Charcha’ (Pardon, for the phrase of NaMo used here, intentionally) would definitely go a long way in building a good rapport with the Fourth Estate, which the State administration has always overlooked, nay, neglected.