Notable performances from two MPs Manipur’s time in LS

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and the people of Manipur lived up to this in sending the right people to represent them in Parliament and nothing illustrates this better than the performance of the first time two MPs in the Lok Sabha,  Dr Bimol Akoijam from the Inner Parliamentary Constituency and Alfred Kanngam Arthur from the Outer Parliamentary Constituency. On July 3, Dr Bimol stirred the conscience of the Nation with his speech on the Manipur situation, lampooning the indifference of the Prime Minister which was qualified by the words, ‘silence of the PM.’  Then on July 30, MP from the Outer Parliamentary Constituency, Alfred Kanngam Arthur took this one step further with his direct poser to the PM, ‘Why can’t you visit Manipur, can’t you hear the cries of women and children who cannot go back to their homes ?’. The young MP took this forward with yet another poser, ‘Why Union Ministers had not visited Manipur since May 3, 2023 when they used to visit the North Eastern State almost every week before that.’ Not surprisingly the speech of the young MP has gone down very well with the people back home and here is a case of Manipur making her presence felt on the floor of the Lok Sabha. This is perhaps the first time that elected Lok Sabha members from Manipur have been able to hold the attention of the Nation with their impassioned speeches and this is where Manipur may pat herself on the back for having sent the right men to represent the people and the State in the Lok Sabha. Both first time MPs, though Arthur has once represented Ukhrul Assembly Constituency in the Manipur Legislative Assembly, but excellent show and if the people chose the right men to represent them, the Congress also did the right thing in fielding the right candidates to take on the might of the BJP and its ally the NPF. The young but seasoned Alfred also demonstrated that he has exactly read the pulse of the people in reminding the Union Finance Minister that Manipur has the lowest per capita income but yet has the highest inflation, with the latest report stating that the inflation is at an all time high of 10 percent. This is enough to sap the energy of anyone and it is a pity that this fact was not reflected in the Union Budget, a point which the young Arthur conveyed so convincingly. That the notable performance from the young MP came amid the growing cloud of doubt and uncertainty on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi actually gave time to Chief Minister N Biren or not will make it more memorable when one looks back one or two or even three decades down the line. The Sangai Express was one of the Imphal based newspapers which reported that the Prime Minister did set aside 25 minutes to meet the Chief Minister, but with nothing on the meeting said even after the return of the Chief Minister to Imphal on July 30, the cloud of doubt and uncertainty has only risen. This point will be commented on at a more opportune moment later.
It is also heartening to note that Alfred Arthur talked about the floods that hit Manipur in quick succession-during the last days of May to early June and early days of July-terming it the worst flood to have ravaged Manipur in the last 35 years. The question is whether the Centre has taken note of it or not. Peripheral existence, this the point which the two MPs have spoken out for Parliament and the country to hear and take note and Delhi will need to come to the reality that in all its dealings, it has always refused to see the North East region as a living, breathing entity, inhabited by a people and in the process has further boosted the understanding of ‘othering’. It  is this concept of ‘othering’ which the two MPs from Manipur have so effectively exposed on the floor of Parliament. It is encouraging to note that Manipur is making its presence felt on the floor of the Lok Sabha and one hopes the excellent show is not a one off thing and is carried on for the remaining part of their tenure in Parliament. It is this voice which Manipur has wanted to be aired on the floor of the highest decision making body of the country and so far the two MPs from Manipur seem to be on track.  In the process one hopes that Delhi comes around to the reality that for too long it has failed to look beyond the Brahmaputra and it is this conduct which has given rise to the chicken neck syndrome.