Editorial: Upholding President's rule in strife-hit Manipur

Manipur continues to be in the throes of political and governance crisis ever since ethnic violence flared up in the State. After dragging its feet for several months, even as the state government failed to conclusively end the violence and ensure the return of normalcy, the BJP finally got Chief Minister Biren Singh to step down, paving the way for the imposition of President's Rule in the state in February. Now, the Parliament has adopted a Statutory Resolution confirming its imposition, and the discussion surrounding it was along the predictable lines. The Congress claimed that the president’s rule was imposed as opposition parties were planning a no-confidence motion. Opposition parties mounted an attack on the ruling party on three issues. One, Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to engage with the issue in a meaningful and substantial way or visit the State. Two, the government only focused on law and order measures such as imposition of curfew and blocking the internet while not trying to resolve it politically. BJP has been adamant in not asking the chief minister to step down. The government rejected the opposition charges, saying that the President’s rule was imposed because of the political vacuum in the state and that the opposition parties did not have the numbers to pull off the no-confidence motion. The opposition was accused of politicising the issue.

Irrespective of the charges by the opposition and countercharges and claims by the government, it was evident early on that the state government was not successful in quelling the violence and finding political solutions to solve the problem. Besides being inept at handling the crisis using law and order and administrative machinery, narrow political compulsions and compulsions of partisan politics are said to be the main reasons for the prolonged messy situation. It is difficult to say if it fully explains the situation.

The imposition of President’s Rule and the change of guard in Imphal with former bureaucrat Ajay Kumar Bhalla becoming the Governor was expected to fix the issues that Biren Singh’s government couldn’t or didn’t. The explanation was that there would be no partisan political decision-making and the central government could enforce law and order in a fair and unbiased manner. However, media reports indicated that there was a lukewarm response to the first two major steps initiated by the Governor. One is the appeal for the surrender of looted weapons, which is a prerequisite for establishing the rule of law and preventing violence. Secondly, reopening all the roads and restoring free movement of vehicles.

Both steps were met with strong opposition from the rival ethnic groups. The security forces continue to be at its points to the fact that much more needs to be done for the return of peace and normalcy.

While the government is trying to bring the state back from the brink of chaos through predominantly administrative and security measures, the government cannot ignore the persistent demand by the civil society and, of course, the opposition parties that the government should have a long-term strategy that has a strong political component. For instance, more needs to be done to initiate dialogue with both sides separately and all the parties together to foster amicable relationships. If restoring normalcy is taking such a long time, it is difficult to hazard a guess about the time it will take to establish a lasting consensual political solution.