Opinion Yashwant Sinha writes: How to heal Manipur

PM should speak in Parliament. The message of concern for state should go through both Houses

The logjam in Parliament seems to be deliberately created. The PM can speak on Manipur outside Parliament but stoutly refuses to do so inside Parliament.

Yashwant Sinha

July 31, 2023 01:15 PM IST First published on: Jul 31, 2023 at 07:07 AM IST

The prime minister broke his silence on the Manipur situation very very briefly just before the Houses of Parliament were to begin their Monsoon Session on July 13. He said he was pained and angry at the incidents of atrocities against women in various parts of the country, thus clubbing Manipur with a number of other states. But he has so far refused to make any statement in the Houses of Parliament leading to their adjournment repeatedly every day since then. The issue is joined squarely now between the NDA and the INDIA alliance. The unfortunate suspension of Sanjay Singh, AAP member of Rajya Sabha, for the rest of the session will hardly improve the situation.

The prime minister broke his silence on Manipur after 77 days only because Parliament session was about to begin. Would he have done so if there was no Parliament session or would he have maintained the same silence going further? I am raising this question because I feel it is the duty of the prime minister of India to keep his people informed of important developments and not to hide the especially adverse ones from the people to the best of his capacity and for as long as possible. Lack of knowledge about the situation in Manipur, including the various unfortunate incidents, cannot be an excuse as the Prime Minister of India is the most well-informed person in the whole country. I know it personally and can give examples from my own experience to prove this point. So, lack of knowledge on the part of the prime minister is not an excuse he can hide behind. The facts are thus clear. The prime minister would have been informed of the incident of May 4 on the same day. How did he or his government respond? By banning the internet in Manipur so that no news of what was happening could reach the rest of the country. The prime minister knew the truth of Manipur on May 4, if not earlier, and is thus responsible for keeping the country in the dark about the situation in Manipur.

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Now his government and his party are determined to brazen it out in the most shameless fashion possible. I had belonged to that party when it was led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani. I had served in the government of Vajpayee when it lost the vote of confidence in Lok Sabha by just one vote. I had served in a government for which national interest was supreme and winning elections was only secondary. I can hardly believe that it is the same BJP today under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. However, it is a question for my friends in the BJP to ponder. So, what are the indisputable conclusions one can draw from the facts already in the public domain? One, Manipur has been burning at least for three months. Two, over a hundred people have lost their lives. Three, it has been particularly hard on women who have been specially targeted and brutalised. Four, it has been allowed to develop into a multi-layered conflict — between two ethnic groups; between two religious groups; between those who live in the hills and those who live in the plains. Four, there are dark unverified rumours that a certain industrial house with an interest in growing oil palms in the hills wants to create a situation, with the full backing of the government, where such an effort would succeed. Five, it is a classic case of the failure of a “double-engine government”. Six, the brazenness with which the BJP and government spokespersons are speaking on this issue and drawing a parallel between the situation in Manipur and some other states ruled by parties other than the BJP is amazing to say the least. It represents a culture of hubris which has overtaken the BJP under the present leadership and was alien to its culture under Vajpayee and Advani. Seven, it shows the pathetic state to which the temple of democracy, namely the Parliament of India has been reduced. Eight, it shows how the BJP parliamentary party, and the party itself, has been reduced to a helpless lot with some “out Heroding Herod” to please the masters.

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The logjam in Parliament seems to be deliberately created. The PM can speak on Manipur outside Parliament but stoutly refuses to do so inside Parliament. The reason is simple: The PM has no use for Parliament. It is a necessary evil which has to be allowed to meet for the shortest possible time in a year to fulfil a constitutional requirement. Yet if a solution has to be found then here are some suggestions:

One, let the PM come to the Houses of Parliament and make a statement. Two, let there be a discussion under a rule agreed to by the opposition and the government. Three, let every party in Parliament participate in the debate. Four, let the debate not be limited by time. Five, let a single message go out of Parliament through the discussion. Six, let an all-party parliamentary delegation visit Manipur, talk to the warring factions and try to bring peace. Seven, let a financial package be worked out to compensate people for the physical damage they have suffered.

Democracy is not defined by the beauty of its Parliament building. It is dignified by the quality of its debates and the voice with which it speaks in unison on national issues.

The Opposition has come together under the banner of INDIA. It is its first test in Parliament. Hopefully, it will prove to the people of India that it means business and will live up to its name.

The writer is a former Union external affairs and finance minister