Having minutely observed Narendra Modi’s speech at Imphal recently and given an incisive scrutiny, one is left wondering as to the personae of Modi either as the honourable Prime Minister of India or merely a communal BJP activist.
Lambasting all the way, the Congress Chief Minister of Manipur, Ibobi Singh for all the ills and sufferings in Manipur, blaming Singh and congress even for the persistent bandh, while promising the people of Manipur that every existing ailments including the bandh would immediately be remedied and Manipuris would be highly uplifted and will be made to lead the entire North East region but only if BJP is voted to power.
It is extremely preposterous on the part of honourable Prime Minister of India to singularly relate to the people purely on the basis of party affiliation.
As the PM of India, he is duty bound to intervene and assist in resolving the issues grievously affecting the state and the people of Manipur, on the contrary putting the entire onus on a particular political party and pledging to assist only if Manipur people choose BJP is an act of disgrace to the highest office of the country.
As the Chief Minister of Gujarat for many years, Modi must have known that every state has it’s own unique features and complications, likewise, Manipur is a minor state in terms of size and population but the problems are ex-proportionate due to its divergent ethnicity and caste composition. The ethnic issues are mostly the creation of GOI and Modi should have been earnest on this sensitive issues and commit the prestigious potency of the PM’s office in resolving the issues.
Modi may be a skilled crowd pulling orator and a star BJP campaigner, however, as long as he holds the office of the PM of India, he should have the decency to maintain the dignity of the office and avoid rash emotional appeal for the temporal political gain of a particular party he is affiliated to.
All the applaud of the crowd for his comments thus appears short lived and meant only for the short term electoral benefits of the BJP and nothing substantive or long term positive assurance was dedicated to the State of Manipur by the Prime Minister of India.
Manipur having beleaguered with acute ethnic strain, the people of the state had set highest expectations from the Prime Minister of India to deliver substantial goods, however, to their utter dismay, Modi came and spoke as the spokesperson of BJP party on electoral tour.
The party politics and communal agendas openly played out by the PM of India in an ethnic strife torn Manipur state would only incense communal tension and add fuel to the burning fire.
Such malicious presentation of the Prime Minister of India should never be allowed to spread beyond the state of Manipur for it bears the potential to contaminate and provoke ethnic tensions and create more unwanted communal dis-harmony in the region Lt. Gen.
Niki Sumi
