The on and off political confrontation both within the DAN coalition and between the DAN government and the Opposition Congress has sometimes led to a degeneration of politics to mere partisan squabbles provoked by politicians for short term gains. The result is that this only aids in polarization of the polity leading to mutual resentment and nothing more. While the need to uphold debate within a given political space is not being belittled, the fact that there are no standards of what is right and wrong and mere political assertion of who is in the right only goes to show the diminishing of politics and the people who profess by it as nothing more than a shouting brigade and their claims as nothing more than plain propaganda to confuse the public.
The recent barrage of claims and disclaimers between the NPF and the Opposition Congress over the successful conclusion or otherwise of the Agri-Expo 2006 hosted by the Nagaland government is indeed most unfortunate. What should be seen as a purely development initiative involving the Central government and the Northeastern States has been made out to be a political achievement of sorts for the ruling NPF led DAN government. While the NPF may make a rightful claim to the declaration ‘Year of Farmers’, the Agri-Expo is a government initiative and not funded by the political party in question. In fact a major source of funding has been through the Centre which is being headed by the Congress led UPA government. Therefore to take sole credit is itself ill-motivated. The Nagaland government is not so much a party government but a government belonging to the people of the State as a whole.
As far as the Congress allegations that benefits from such programs accrue only to those close to the DAN government, it would indeed be erroneous to make such a sweeping generalization. It is worthwhile to therefore make a mention of the extreme form of partisanship being played out in the political arena by parties. Even the general public is tired of constant political bickering and the more important concerns of the people are sometimes lost in the echoes of party foes. Rather than fomenting partisan divisions on each and every issue, the spectrum of political leadership (including the Under-Ground) should be open to bipartisanship as an avenue for dealing with the critical challenges, and for combining the best ideas. Whether politicians are genuinely willing to embrace true bipartisanship therefore remains the moot point.
It is a matter of concern that political leaders including within the UG organization merely point fingers at each other and devise negative messages that have little, if anything, to do with issues. This is detrimental to the common good. When it comes to critical issues, such as the economy, education, the peace process etc. bipartisanship should be given priority. A bipartisan spirit of reconciling political interests, without in anyway surrendering free debate or one’s political identity, is therefore not only desirable but also the need of the hour. And for this, Naga leaders must imbibe a bipartisan spirit that will allow them to work together, rise to the challenge, and come up with solutions to the common problems and issues faced by people, the society and State as a whole.
