Ever since taking office as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second term, Mr. Biren, time and again, on various occasions, pompously declared that he would move the mountains or die trying to make a corruption-free Manipur. Where there is a microphone, Biren always makes this promise. But has he done something substantial to prove his attempt? A big NO resounds.
Even just yesterday, he told a gathering at Manipur University that all state government recruitment would be conducted on a merit basis only in his so-called bid to root out corruption in the recruitment process. But his inability to declare recruitment results of various departments’ examinations conducted before the election made people recall senior Congress leader Okram Joy’s famous quote packed with mockery: “Biren-na nganba wabu, wa-oina louba yabra.”
After the new government formation, Mr. Biren’s announcement of “100 action points for the first 100 days” came as a surprise and shock to many. After taking oath as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second term, Biren said that the first task of his government would be to make the state corruption-free – a mission which is also included in the 100. But it was nothing new.
To commoners, recruiting employees based on bribes or through their connections with high-ranking officials or lawmakers is seen as one of the government’s top corrupt practices. In addition, taking a long time in the recruitment process is deemed a delay tactic. Therefore, if the new government is genuinely striving for a corruption-free Manipur, the first step should be to declare the results of all recruitment examinations held just before the Assembly polls now; it will undoubtedly give an impression that Biren walks the talk. But he hasn’t done it yet.
Kudos to the Election Commission of India for completing the entire election process of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly in just 62 days. The feat was something N Biren Singh & Co. should learn and digest to help themselves expedite the recruitment process of state government departments.
Scores of government departments invited applications for various vacant posts, and recruitments exams were conducted ahead of the election date announcement. According to a highly placed source, most departments have already completed checking the examination papers by 3 April 2022, following strict instructions from CM N Biren Singh to even work on Sundays. But, surprisingly, the results have not been declared till now. What is cooking here? Is it a delay tactic? Is the chief minister reluctant to give the nod to announce the results? Amid all these developments, rumors have it that directors of some departments have started sending out their aides to collect money from candidates, giving ample time to people to fill the dots.
It is high time that Mr. Biren drops the mic and starts acting on his promises to display his commitment to corruption-free recruitment. The youths are watching.
