Third stint as Chief Minister : Time for governance
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 15, 2012 -

Ibobi being sworn in as the CM by Governor Gurbachand Jagat and MLAs during the oath taking ceremony at the Assembly hall on March 14 2012 :: Pix - TSE

There would be no greater fallacy than to come under the impression that the massive mandate that the Congress received at the hustings to the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly was a mandate for governance. No it was not.

It was more of a mandate against a spineless, toothless and the 'paper tiger' image that became synonymous with the Opposition. The result is the never before seen landslide of a victory for the Congress.

This is lesson number one that Chief Minister O Ibobi must keep in mind, if innings number III is to have any meaningful impact on the State. The MLA elects have been administered the oath of office and secrecy and the Chief Minister too has taken his oath as the first among equals and it is now time to get down to the serious business of governance.

The task before the Chief Minister should not be that complex but it needs sincerity of purpose and a no-nonsense approach to the tasks at hand.

It is about translating the massive mandate into governance and for this to happen, the first, and this is very, very important, is to reverse the process in which the very understanding of the term stability was turned on its head in the last ten years.

People's mandate and that too a massive one does not mean a safety belt to the seat of power, but should be about listening and sincerely trying to understand the grievances of the people on a wider canvass.

Power politics may necessitate the cultivation of the clique culture, but a line needs to be drawn to see that this clique does not interfere or sabotage governance.

How seriously will Mr Okram Ibobi take the underlying message of this observation in his third stint as Chief Minister remains to be seen but it was this clique which manifested itself in the now infamous 'politician-contractor' nexus and which gave rise to the trend of viewing everything through the prism of contract and supply works in the last ten years.

Such a state of affair cannot be good for the land and her people and it is a matter of concern to see that this has come to roost. Whether the Chief Minister will make any attempt to uproot this or not will set the benchmark for governance in the five years to come.

The rust, the dirt, the cob webs that have gathered in the last ten years need to be cleaned and sanitised with a good dose of disinfectants. For this, the cockroaches need to be removed and here we are not only talking about the Council of Ministers and their henchmen but also about the gradual institutional collapse that has been witnessed in the last 10 years.

When democratic institutions are allowed to rust and are reduced to the fiefdoms of some power players then it cannot be for the good of anyone. The Chief Minister needs to reverse this trend and ensure that institutions, as exist in a democracy, are strengthened.

Why is it that a traffic cop on duty is unable to book a vehicle parked on a no parking zone just because that person happens to be related or is deemed to be someone close to those who come under the category of the 'Mantri-Mandols' ?

This is something which is witnessed on the roads of Imphal on a daily basis and we quote this example just to demonstrate how far the power and authority of democratic institutions have been usurped by the power players.

Take this example to other spheres of public life and the unfolding scenario should be clear to all. Why is there the all pervading thought that the people 'should be entitled' to only 3 hours of power supply in a day of 24 hours while those with connections in the right places should continue to enjoy uninterrupted power supply ?

Why should the privileged class come under the impression that they can fire a gun and walk away to freedom ?

As the head and leader of the people, Mr Okram Ibobi should start looking into these issues, for ultimately they all boil down to governance, which in its most basic understanding is about the presence of a Government which is there to do a job.

Or is this asking for too much ? Will the same nonsense that the people witnessed in the last ten years continue or will there be a change in innings number III of the Chief Minister ? The ball is in his court.

The people have lobbed the ball onto his court and now it is time for him to sit down and correct the flawed understanding or misinterpretation of stability. The mandate of the people should translate into governance