Manipur had witnessed cycle thief or vehicle lifter lynched by mob, a pick-pocket jailed or a police constable or a grade IV staff fired for bribing Rs. 10 to 100. These small time thieves sometimes loss their lives for a little amount of money which a high class bureaucrats or contractors spent in one night at luxurious Hotel. However, broad day light looters in front of our eyes get only backlash from helpless common people who were brave enough to lynch a cycle thieves. None of this brave common people dare to punish these looters of public money.
Something seems to be seriously wrong to the working of our society. Talks about a corrupt leader or government will be the topic of many people, but then the very group of people will have no problem with the leader or the government official, the moment he or she gives them a courtesy call. The topic will then goes in favour of them with few people starting supportive statement and then the conclusion will arrive – “what is wrong in taking bribe for the job after all the one who is paying should be punished”. Someone from among them will ask – Can you provide any evidences of the charges levelled against them?
It is right; you can’t blame or punish anybody until and unless you have a proper proof or evidences. Saying so how could a drug user be punished in public platform when it takes years to punish drug smugglers over failure to prove that the drugs that he or she was arrested was a substance containing intoxicants chemicals.
The same is with the cycle thief or vehicle lifter. The big looter who eats public money in front of our eyes will be offered all kinds of respect until he is proven but the cycle thief or the vehicle lifter will be punished the moment by the people who had seen big men looting the public money without actually understanding the reason for his becoming a small time thieve.
Every literate people in the state knows that educated youths in the state are spoiled many times just because they have no jobs to do. Government had plan many schemes like granting them loan through banks so that they can start a business for their survival. These educated youths get frustrated because all they learnt from their books and the government procedure are not of use in real world. Almost all banks in the state of Manipur, don’t give loan – that easily as the government had said. Even the beneficiaries who were assured loan by the Industry department of the state government under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Schemes (PMEGP) don’t get loan that easily, if granted due to compulsion also get looted by the nature of the bank in giving them the loan. These banks violate government guidelines and the beneficiaries were compelled to follow strictures provided by the bank for the want of money. The interest and compound interest will be a curse for the beneficiaries as the loan amount were provided on instalment basis.
Well when these banks are giving too much problem to common men, they have no problem to big people who have connection with influential politicians and who can afford any amount of money that they asked.
One such incident was reported by Imphal Times yesterday under the heading “None Local runs Floor Mill granted Rs. 8 crore loan from SBI using fake documents”. If one dig the ponder on the report, the said proprietor Mr. Mahendra Kumar Jain not only fooled the bank but also eat up over Rs. 200 crore of public money by not paying tax which every citizen should do.
The report not only pen-pictured the systematic destruction of common people but also highlights on how the system is underway. Different government in power makes no differences when it comes for the cause of the common people as the new government too have to follow the same system.
There is an urgent need for change of the system rather than replacing the ruler.
