Dream of a corruption-free Manipur: Another botched implementation of anti-corruption strategies in the store?

Failing to deliver his promises is a bitter pill to swallow for Mr. N Biren Singh. But, what is even worse is admitting his incapability. In his last term, in March 2017, he started an initiative for a corruption-free Manipur, encouraging people to capture videos of government officials’ wrongdoings and send them to the WhatsApp number 9402150000. What happened to it? In his second innings, Mr. Biren is performing an encore with the re-constitution of the ‘Anti-Corruption Cell.” But, unfortunately, the new order regarding it has nothing new. The order by the Chief Secretary said that the primary responsibility of the ‘Anti-Corruption Cell’ would be to receive complaints of corruption against public servants from the general public through phone calls, messages, written complaints, and the new inclusion being the ‘CM da Haisi’ platform.
However, the public see the new platform ‘CM da Haisi’ as a campaign orchestrated by N Biren Singh to woo voters given the timing of the launch and its responses. The team of this platform didn’t do the basic things a grievance cell ought to do. They never provided a complaint number, a tentative duration for resolving the grievances, or even a fixed date for escalating the complaint to the concerned departments. The complainants are simply told to wait ‘some days’ till the concerned department calls them regarding their problem. Some received the calls after a few weeks, while many didn’t. The team, however, takes all the details of the caller, even his profession. How would the complainant believe that his identity would not be compromised?
Transparency International, in its Corruption Perception Index report, released in January 2022, ranked India at 85 among 180 countries. The statement underlined concerns over the risk to journalists and activists who have been “victims of attacks by the police, political militants, criminal gangs and corrupt local officials.” “Civil society organizations that speak up against the government have been targeted with security, defamation, sedition, hate speech and contempt-of-court charges, and with regulations on foreign funding,” the report said. This statement particularly connects very much to the state of Manipur, where the NSA is kept handy by the government to target individuals who write against the government, even on social media sites. In an interview with a TV channel based in Delhi, Mr. Biren couldn’t justify journalists’ arrest under the act mentioned above. Thus, the situation compelled people to raise the question: Where to find the courage to speak against the government officials and lawmakers?
It is 2022, and politicians are still begging for votes contending to have improved the road infrastructure, not overall, but better than the previous governments. And a few other claims of providing tap waters and oxygen cylinders. The development of all sectors is hindered directly and indirectly by various corruption tactics; bribery is not the sole cause. It is necessary to analyze the root cause of the increasing rate of black money to counter corruption. Demonetization couldn’t help. In India, 99% of the population doesn’t pay income tax. The reason is simple: people don’t trust the government. They believed that the tax amount goes to waste, and the government doesn’t use it for any developmental works for public welfare. Proper implementation of all schemes and initiatives is the foundation of stemming the corruption issue. Moreover, anti-corruption strategies must be put in place. The requisites include a fitting drafting process, situation analysis, formulation of measures, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting to gain people’s trust in the government.
Though Rome wasn’t built in a day, five years was a long time to do what was indispensable for the welfare of the people. People don’t buy the reprimands mounted on 15 years of Congress rule, which Biren himself was a part of. If the government genuinely wants a corruption-free Manipur, now is the right time to focus on what people say and encourage them to speak up instead of mulling and misusing Acts of the Constitution. And, flinging accusations at each other won’t be a panacea either.