[Tage Lapung]
The government resting on an absolute majority in the state assembly and protected by the absolute regime at the centre is the first fundamental of political stability. Yes, power is absolute, and politically it is stable numerically too.
Every words and statements of the leadership presiding over the regime is taken as commandment in the archaic of its administration. This situation often tends to create an illusion of absolute power. Then what is making the state gloomy and uncertain in the public domain? This incongruent socio-political atmosphere charging up in Arunachal Pradesh is a matter not for the academicians, but for the people in the political regime to answer.
Pema Khandu, an unexplored-dynamic young Chief Minister who inherited chair from the chaotic and shaky political regime of Nabam Tuki and Lt Kalikho Pul was a hope for the people that time, to cleanse the messy politics in the state. His leadership had orchestrated an election battle with absolute majority in 2019 legislative assembly elections with all the nuisance makers routed out in the elections. Since then, the regime is reigning politically stable on zero opposition with the four pliant Congress MLAs in the state assembly too, debating for the motion. With this kind of rare and absolute stability, the state is expected to deliver peace, fair and just administration of development targets under his leadership. But every passing year of his regime has generated wave of push back with more questions than solutions, on his credibility to govern the state, with accountability with transparency. This pointing of suspicions has became generic in context of an incessant public voice, dharnas, protest marches in the state capital on various scams ranging from illegal appointments in jobs to manipulative tender process in awarding of contracts and supply works in various govt department.
And now, the AAPSU and ANSU, two most powerful students’ organizations taking the APPSC paper leak issue to street and AAC-Toko Sheetal piercing ear-drums at Jantar-Mantar in Delhi with all possible image damaging slogans and allegations. Whether we are convenient or inconvenient to agree or not to agree, Arunachal Pradesh and its people have been painted with irreversible dirt, at a time when stability and absolute power regime is reigning in its zenith.
As matter of fact, it should not be less polite to remind Pema Khandu that, it was he who pitched up high decibel announcement packaging: free, fair, accountability and transparency as the canon of governance under his leadership. If we glance through the decisions and actual implementations of the government under his leadership, falsity and deflections are seen more open and tangible. For example, all govt. jobs below the group-B post are supposed to be referred to SSB but the SSB is getting less requisition for recruitment as the post are filled by all department concern through contract and contingencies appointments, and appointment on sports quota remain an absolute desperation of department concern barring the merits. Even the Raj Bhawan and Rajiv Gandhi University are no more exceptions in the circus.
In development funds, the execution contracts are tender to be presided over by the same officer who himself is a bidder of a firm owned in the name of relatives, children and wife. MLAs of the constituency shooting note sheets for allocation of his pool of funds for constructions of roads, walls and security fencing etc. of his private mansion in Itanagar region, not for his constituency. A project of power dept worth Rs. 143 Crore could got cleared with financial sanction from the govt. in a single day with four chief engineers of department sitting at the splitting distance of more than 300 km each signing NOC in a single day, while project worth Rs. 5 Lakhs for construction of toilet for girls in education department does not get thorough in two years. Examples are plenty. It would not be exaggeration to conclude that overall situation in the delivery process is rotting, grave and frustrating where only citizens are made to abide and fear the law, not the government and their functionaries.
The chaos situation in the streets of capital region cannot be sighted as mere law and order issue they must be treated as the expression of public anger against the overall pattern of ill-conceived governance, injustice in the delivery process and degrading performance of the state institution who are for the people, not for the government itself.
Therefore, it is indicative for me to drive home some point of fallacies entwining the gaps in the governance under the absolute majoritarianism of the present Chief Minister. Political stability with absolute majority though, has yielded absolute power, but has it transformed to a decisive decision making power, is raising suspicions. Maneuvering majority winning of legislative seats and arm-twisting support of 60 members can give stability magic, but to catalyst the luxury of stability and power of command into the wheel of governance requires another plane of skill and wisdom. It is now an imperative choice for the leadership to re-look into where the false and fallacies lies in his governance. This core issue must be answered by leadership himself. Or has the leadership become too remote to hear and feel the public pulse, because the people sitting in the air-tight CMO have shielded the shriek voice of stakeholders? If above points are not addressed by the leader, the chaos will continue and the state will remain the lone victim. (Tage Lapung is former AAPSU president)
