Panic over visits of Union ministers

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

IMPHAL, February 17: There is concern among the ministers and high officials now that the Prime Minister has started sending ministers to Manipur to oversee the developmental works.

It may be recalled that from the very beginning the BJP State unit president Chaoba Thouojam has been saying that some corrupt ministers will be sent to prison soon.

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Commerce and Industries minister, was not pleased with the hush hush manner of running the show. She found that the officials at Moreh, the entrepot of India and Myanmar could not give her basic data on the trade. Besides, most surprisingly, they could not tell her the revenue collected from export and import.

Like her, most of the ministers were not happy. For instance, Union Consumer Affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan had promised an inquiry since there are two contradictory versions on the public distribution system in Manipur. Inputs made available to him were that the system is very defective in Manipur and essential commodities do not reach the poor section of people.

However, the government officials told him that the system has been doing fine in the State all these years.

Though other ministers who had visited Manipur did not make any public comment, it is clear that they had noted down many things and these will be brought to the notice of the Prime Minister.

The Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi has been ruling the State for the last 13 years without any obstruction and criticism from the non-existent opposition.

He got the impression that he could rule the State as he pleased. But things have changed now and suddenly he has become accountable to the Union government. The BJP functiories are overjoyed.