In the ongoing journey of any society, there comes along issues time to time which are fundamental to the image and character of the people. For us, at the very present juncture, are the ADC related issues, which for the lack of effective treatment have undeniably exposed how tenuous our existence has become. The reason being, we wax eloquent skirting around the issues; we just don’t seem to have the guts to grabble with the ailments head on at the roots.
Kindly bear with me as I run through the following out of the many keeping in view the Manipur govt’s order dt. 25.05.21 (appointing thereunder care-taker chairman:
1. Where are ‘democracy and autonomy’ embedded in the core structure of the existing ADCs? Absolutely nowhere except the nomenclature and yet we keep branding ourselves ‘autonomous, democratic’ all these 50 yrs. The world around us is not deceived and surely none to applaud us. We are left padding ourselves on our back wow! It is high time we call a spade a spade and put an end to ADC being used as a tool to insult our democratic & autonomous instincts. I beg of You ‘Educated youth’ to please be on board the 21st century juggernaut that has room only for ‘action-packed’ educated youth as the only way forward to civilizational climb. No more time to waste on semantic/rhetorical exercise.
Also read: Manipur Guv appoints existing ADC Chairmen as ‘caretaker chairmen’, forfeits financial powers
2. Where on earth is the power vested with any authority to arbitrarily snuff out election and grant extension of the existing tenure beyond the mandate of five years? Who on earth, would any self-respecting public (you & I included) put up with insult of this magnitude?? And do we dare applaud being led by chair-chasing crowd of leaders who show so much audacity to defy people’s mandate which is for five years? Any self-respecting leader would have walked off lock stock and barrel on the dotted minute of the term’s completion and should have gone hammer and tongs on why, I say solid ‘Why the powers that be, should not be held in contempt of our legitimate rights’?
3. Where on earth is the power vested with any authority to appoint care-taker chairmen (freshly coined nomenclature) and on what basis would anyone accept such appointment? In a vacuum, outside and beyond people’s mandate and yet flaunting around as democratic public functionaries! Unheard of and indeed nowhere to be found in the lexicon of democratic public institutions! Only in the land we inhabit, We the people would say ‘Amen to being left in the hands of care-taker.
Warning: don’t buy COVID-19 as the excuse. Govt’s notification postponing ADCs elections was out as early as January 20 when the pandemic was nowhere on the horizon.
Thanking you all and God bless. Sword Vashum.
Sword Vashum. Retired additional deputy comptroller and accountant general. Views are personal.