The dust is slowly settling with the return of the Tourists from Kaziranga. Them being JEERED (oooops, cheered) is another matter. The undercurrent... an imminent volcanic eruption! Going by this unpredictably predictable nature of our dear elected representatives it is very easy to deduce why the MAJORITY went to Kaziranga in the first place. They have found the present Chief Minister unworthy to continue on the chair. But when the party was in the muck, he was dragged out of retirement to save the government and the party, not from the Congress but from, you know who, the cause of all the misery for the NPF and DAN Government ever since.
To repeat to the point of boredom, we have two categories of people high up there; one, not satisfied with what they have. Unfortunately everyone wants the same 3 or 4 plum portfolios, which alas, cannot be split into dozens to accommodate everyone. The other is the much talked of group everywhere, the ones involved in numerous high-profile scams in the Police Department, PDS, etc.
The Chief Minister is clearly at fault in all this; he should have given Finance, Supply, Home, and Roads & Bridges to each and everyone. His bigger fault is that he should not have tinkered with the thought of investigating into some of the major scams of Nagaland. Now, that stirred the hornets’ nest. It made them dash off to Kaziranga, to the annoyance of the rhinos, elephants, etc. that packed up and left Kaziranga for good. That is exactly what Mr. Rio meant when he stated that ‘the working style of the current government is not being liked by the people and the legislators in the state’ (Nagas losing trust in NPF, The Morung Express, July 15th 2017, Front page). However, a minor error in his statement stands corrected in that it is not all the legislators, and definitely not most of the people.
However, no matter what, at last we have someone who has the guts to decide an investigation into some of the major scams. This is what the common man hoped for, these many years, particularly from 2003, when the LOOT was unprecedented, that too brazenly.
Despite the unfolding events towards some transparency, the Governor decided to call for a floor test. In the event of Dr. Shürhozelie’s removal, PR is the only viable option. The Governor should then shoulder the responsibility of continuing what the Chief Minister started by ensuring that the process of investigation into the various scams amounting to tens of thousands of crores of rupees (Public money looted) continues unhampered. Nothing less than the CBI!
Prof. G.T. Thong
Nagaland University
