With no hope for a popular government, MLAs focus on their Assembly elections

With no hope for a popular government, MLAs focus on their Assembly elections

As the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament nears an announcement on extending President's Rule for another six months, our elected leaders remain oblivious to the desperate cries of mothers in Manipur's relief camps and the heart-wrenching pleas of young children's longing to return home. The focus drifts from the unresolved task of securing a lasting solution to some of the major core issues for future generations to addressing minor constituency issues that can be exchanged for votes.

Naorem Mohen
  • Jul 24, 2025,
  • Updated Jul 24, 2025, 11:18 AM IST

As the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament nears an announcement on extending President's Rule for another six months, our elected leaders remain oblivious to the desperate cries of mothers in Manipur's relief camps and the heart-wrenching pleas of young children's longing to return home. The focus drifts from the unresolved task of securing a lasting solution to some of the major core issues for future generations to addressing minor constituency issues that can be exchanged for votes.

Has the SoO agreement been abrogated? Have "Any Kuki tribes" been removed from Scheduled Tribe list? How many missing civilians returned back? Are highways open for free movement of people? Has the deportation of illegal immigrants, as seen in Assam and Mizoram, begun? Has NRC begun in Manipur? Have efforts succeeded in protecting village volunteers and Arambai Tenggol members defending against foreign militant attacks? Has Moreh town been successfully reopened? Have elected representatives secured the sacred shrines of Ibudhou Thangjing and Ibudhou Koubru? Is there a roadmap for displaced people to return home? These are pressing concerns—what progress has been made so far?

In the early days, some MLAs made routine morning walks through the relief camps, offering a comforting presence and lending their shoulders for the displaced to shed their tears, a gesture that briefly uplifted spirits. However, as time has passed, their visits have ceased entirely. Even when they did appear, their cameramen often outnumbered the bags of relief materials brought for distribution, revealing a focus more on optics than genuine aid. 

When the roads clog with water and potholes mar its streets, MLAs from both BJP and Congress are quick to make appearances, repairing of community halls, inauguration of playgrounds, student facilitation, inspecting drainage systems and distributing rations—substandard cooking oil, onions, and potatoes—to the cameras. Their supporters flood social media with these staged acts of charity, signaling the arrival of election fever. But is this the time for such theatrics? 

With the state in chaos since May 2023, around 70,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) languish in relief camps, their homes burned, their hopes fading with each passing day. People are dying, not just from violence but from neglect, yet politicians prioritize photo-ops over solutions. Despite the efforts of the President's Rule administration toward rehabilitation, isn't it the duty of elected representatives to address the hopes and aspirations of the people?

While Kuki MLAs and CSOs focus on securing a Deemed University, SSC center, UGC NET exam center, Greenfield airports, and new highways for their community, their counterparts in the valley seem preoccupied with appeasing voters through minor constituency issues. Instead of tackling critical challenges like ethnic reconciliation, IDP rehabilitation, free movement, arrangements for cheap flights from Imphal and border security, leaders prioritize small-scale voter concerns—such as Self Help Groups and youth empowerment programs—overlooking the broader turmoil that continues to divide the state.

Is their memory of core crises—ethnic violence, displacement, and border insecurity—erased, or are their priorities deliberately skewed? The state’s leaders, entrusted to heal a fractured land, seem more invested in vote-bank politics than addressing the plight of their people. These MLAs have never stopped fooling people that they will bring popular government. Their frequent Delhi trips, framed as advocacy, yield nothing but hollow promises, leaving the people to question: what good are these gestures when the state’s wounds remain unaddressed?

Since May 2023, ethnic violence has torn Manipur apart, pitting Kuki against Meitei and leaving Nagas wary of Kuki claims over their ancestral lands in districts like Kangpokpi and Noney. The Kuki unwilling to coexist with Meitei, demand separate administration, while Nagas resist the encroachment of displaced Kuki in their lands and the resettlement of IDPs in Naga areas. President’s Rule, imposed in February 2025 and set for another six-month extension till January 2026, has deepened the leadership vacuum. Politicians deflect responsibility to the Governor’s councils, offering lip service while sidestepping critical issues: IDP rehabilitation, the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, border security, and illegal immigration. 

A bizarre bureaucratic proposal for a 2026 census, without addressing undocumented migrants, highlights this disconnect. As neighboring states like Mizoram, Tripura, and Assam tackle immigration, Manipur leaders appear to be holidaying, leaving their people to suffer. Albert Einstein’s warning—“Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth", people must reject empty promises and demand accountability. What have these 50 MLAs done for the people, leave aside those 10 Kuki MLAs? 

Every time a Congress President Keisham Meghachandra posts on social media or MP Bimol Akoijam gives a press statement, BJP supporters swiftly counter with accusations of false promises. Conversely, when former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh defends his actions, Congress followers flood platforms with criticism. Supporters of both parties must recall the Kangla Vow, in which their leaders swore in the name of Ibudhou Pakhangba to unite and work collaboratively for Manipur’s welfare, a pledge now overshadowed by partisan bickering.

What tangible benefits have Delhi trips brought? Virtually none. The 300 deaths and missing, 4,786 destroyed homes, and segregated communities—Imphal free of Kuki, Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh devoid of Meitei—persist unchanged. Leaders return with soundbites—“We’ve narrated your stories to the authorities”—but no action follows. These trips are an eyewash, designed to convince the people that their leaders care, when in reality, they prioritize optics and vote banks over solutions. 

People are taken for granted, the National political parties are not serious enough with the State issues. But they have to come out now, meeting the people for election canvassing, and voters will accept them too, no one will ask what have they done for the people in the last 2 years. Why did BJP state president A. Sharda Devi remains silent on the diktat issued by a Kuki organization directing their BJP MLAs not to participate in government formation? Similarly, why has the Congress party failed to take disciplinary action against its former candidate, Lamtinthang Haokip, for his persistent propaganda against the Meitei community and his role as a mouthpiece for some separatist organizations? 

The extension of President’s Rule enables politicians to shift blame to the Governor’s councils, dodging accountability for their governance failures that led to its imposition in the first place. The 21 MLAs who appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a “popular government” provided no concrete plan for rehabilitation or peace, yet shamelessly urged him to “take necessary steps to install a popular government at the earliest in the interests of the people of Manipur,” pledging their “full dedication and devotion to bring peace and normalcy.” What happened to the elected government that governed from May 2023 to February 2025? Their deflection ensures future generations inherit unresolved crises, as people bear the burden of past failures now.

In Phaijang, Kangpokpi, the camp in-charge, Momoi, acknowledges the provision of essential facilities by the government, while expressing a profound longing to return to Imphal, where she once led a fulfilling life. Likewise, Angom Ongbi Memchoubi Devi, upon her return to her residence in Kangchup, Imphal West, conveyed her deep appreciation, stating, “We sincerely commend the Governor and DC for their diligent efforts in enabling our return to our homes. Their initiatives have instilled great hope and relief, as living in dependency has been immensely challenging and distressing.”

The MLAs’ public displays—inspecting drains, attending local club functions, inauguration of community halls—reek of election-driven posturing. Social media amplifies these acts, portraying leaders as saviors, yet they do nothing for the rehabilitation of 70,000 IDPs or the families of the 300 killed. These gestures, timed with election fever, distract from the state’s chaos, where dozens of innocent civilians are missing still. The Inpui, Zemei, Liangmei and Rongmei people's resistance to Kuki resettlement in Kangpokpi  and the illegal roads passing through their lands exposes the complexity of land disputes and failure of incumbent elected governance yet the leaders offer no mediation or help to bring permanent solutions to the core issues. Their focus on trivial issues while people die in camps reveals a deliberate prioritization of votes over lives.

Einstein’s warning—“Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth”—resonates deeply with those enduring hardships in  relief camps as IDP and those restricted in free movement across the state, where the economy has been shattered by violence and struggles to recover. The people must hold accountable leaders who resort to superficial photo opportunities and leisure amid the crisis, showing indifference to the public’s suffering. With highways restricted and flight tickets from Imphal skyrocketing, the financial burden on those in Kuki-occupied Manipur highlights the callous disregard of party leaders and elected representatives. We must not bow to politicians who fail to feel the people’s pain; the time for empty rhetoric has passed, and Manipur demands leaders who deliver decisive action.

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