Ibobi’s doublespeak

THE deadly virus — ‘doublespeak’ — has found a new victim in Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. As a matter of fact the viral attack is so severe that it has exposed Ibobi Singh’s double standards in dealing with the current volatile situation in the State. After unilaterally withdrawing the controversial Armed Froces Special Power Act (AFSPA) from Imphal municipal areas ignoring the Centre, the Manipur Chief Minister in the recent conference of the North-Eastern Chief Ministers in Shillong had admitted that of the 32 organisations spearheading the agitation in his State, some have ‘’covert links with extremists’’ and called for a major offensive against the ultras. Before going into further details, it should be mentioned here that whatever had happened with Manorama and her family must be condemned strongly. Perpetrators of this heinous crime have no place in a civilised society. The offenders   should be given exemplary punishment. But the problem arises when someone tries to fish in troubled waters. From the very onset of the present unrest in Manipur, the Chief Minister has tried to gain extra political mileage. Ibobi Singh himself admitted in Shillong that ‘’the incident has provided a unique opportunity to the underground and unlawful outfits to mobilise public support and wean them towards secessionist and violent strategies.’’ The question here is what was the Chief Minister doing when the underground elements were trying to use the Manorama incident to their advantage? Was it not his duty to prevent the secessionist forces from gaining grounds? When he knew that underground forces were behind the agitation, what provoked him to visit Delhi twice to convince the Central leaders to lift the controversial Act? Now the Manipur Chief Minister is advocating a strong line against the secessionist forces. But why didn’t he take any steps to alienate the divisive forces after taking over the reins of the State two years back? 

Reports of an unholy alliance between the Chief Minister and the underground outfits are already in circulation for quite some time now. As a matter of fact some of his colleagues had even alleged to the Central leadership that the Chief Minister was implementing his hidden agenda taking advantage of the Manorama incident. Ibobi Singh should come clean on all these allegations. Under Ibobi’s leadership the ‘jewel of land’ has lost its shine. From day one he had not taken any effective measures to restore the lost glory of Manipur. Had he shown a little amount of zeal in restoring the situation in the State as he had shown in saving his chair, the story would have been different. Today what Manipur needs is good governance not a Chief Minister with manipulative skills.  It is high time for Ibobi Singh to mend his ways and contribute his might for the welfare of the State.

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