For the last three days the entire capital complex is burning and has turned into a virtual war zone. The protests which erupted against the possible granting of permanent resident certificates (PRC) to land holding non-APST communities in Namsai and Changlang district has gone out of control. Reports of vandalization of government as well as public properties are pouring in from various parts of the capital complex. Three youths have so far lost their lives in police firing. The whole situation exposes the failure on the part of politicians to read the pulse of the citizens.
There was deep anger when some politicians of the ruling party announced that PRCs would be granted to the non-APSTs. What was the need of going ahead with the move when the indigenous tribal people had made it clear that they would not accept any such decision? They should have carried out more consultative meetings with various tribal groups before coming to the conclusion. The government made the mistake of hastening the granting of PRCs just before the elections. Also, the capital administration miserably failed to control the situation. The role of the capital complex deputy commissioner and the SP is highly questionable. Further, the role of police intelligence is also under the scanner. How did they fail to collect intelligence about such large-scale gatherings of people which culminated into violent clashes? There should be proper investigation, may be by the Central Bureau of Investigation, into the whole incident, including the killing of the three youths.