Response of Delhi in last 20 months Making people more confused
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‘Deafening silence’ may not be technically correct for Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken out on the ethnic violence here at least two/three times. The time the Prime Minister broke his silence on Manipur was July 20, 2023 when the nude parade of two girls went viral on the social media. The video shoot was reportedly recorded on May 4, 2023, that is one day after Manipur went up in flames but the video footage surfaced only in July, prompting the Prime Minister to break his silence. This was in 2023 and while Manipur went from one case of mayhem to the other, the Prime Minister spoke out again on April 8, 2024 proclaiming that situation in Manipur was improving. This was followed by his call to all to rise above politics while referring to the ethnic clash here on July 3, 2024. The Prime Minister has not been keeping quiet, is the line that the BJP has sought to convey to the people and in a sort of a master stroke to ‘convince’ others that Manipur ranks high on the agenda of the BJP led Government at Delhi, the Prime Minister asserted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is keeping a close tab on what is happening here in Manipur and he (PM) is being kept updated. To demonstrate that Delhi and Imphal are working in close tandem to keep a check on the violence here, the Home Minister proclaimed that the ‘Chief Minister is co- operating.’ With no further details spelt out, many have noted with concern that just a few days after the ethnic violence erupted, Delhi lost no time in sending in more troops to contain the situation and in nominating former CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh as the Security Advisor and made him the Chairman of the Unified Command. The interesting part is the appointment of Kuldiep Singh as the Security Advisor was officially announced by the State Government. Next came the appointment of senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh as the new DGP and here too while the new DGP was sent from Delhi, the announcement was made by the State Government. It was only some time back that Manipur has received a new Chief Secretary in the person of Prashant Kumar Singh via the same route and while there may be no protocol laid down in black and white that it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister to name the Chief Secretary and the DGP, one is left wondering why all eyes were turned towards New Delhi when the new DGP and Chief Secretary were named. It is also not clear whether Article 355 has been imposed in the State or not and this is the situation that has been scripted by New Delhi for Manipur since the evening of May 3, 2023.
This has been the reality for over 20 months now and it was back on June 17, 2024, that Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high level security meeting at New Delhi to discuss the security scenario in Manipur. The notable absentee at the high level security meet was Chief Minister N Biren Singh with Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh and the then Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi representing Manipur at the meeting. A retired IPS officer in his new avatar as the Security Advisor and an IAS officer occupying the post of Chief Secretary representing Manipur at a meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister to discuss crucial matters when Manipur was literally burning and clearly the response of New Delhi to the unfolding human tragedy did raise more questions than answers. And it has not helped improve the situation. For over 20 months Manipur has been reeling under a crisis and while the mindless killings have left thousands shocked and dumb founded, the indifference of the Prime Minister has only made matters worse. The Prime Minister may have mentioned Manipur more than once in his many address since May 3, 2023, but it should be clear that something more needs to be done. And the manner in which the understanding of a State Government has been turned upside down cannot exactly be called an effort to normalise things. It has only made the people more confused.
This has been the reality for over 20 months now and it was back on June 17, 2024, that Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high level security meeting at New Delhi to discuss the security scenario in Manipur. The notable absentee at the high level security meet was Chief Minister N Biren Singh with Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh and the then Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi representing Manipur at the meeting. A retired IPS officer in his new avatar as the Security Advisor and an IAS officer occupying the post of Chief Secretary representing Manipur at a meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister to discuss crucial matters when Manipur was literally burning and clearly the response of New Delhi to the unfolding human tragedy did raise more questions than answers. And it has not helped improve the situation. For over 20 months Manipur has been reeling under a crisis and while the mindless killings have left thousands shocked and dumb founded, the indifference of the Prime Minister has only made matters worse. The Prime Minister may have mentioned Manipur more than once in his many address since May 3, 2023, but it should be clear that something more needs to be done. And the manner in which the understanding of a State Government has been turned upside down cannot exactly be called an effort to normalise things. It has only made the people more confused.