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Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Rally and After

Editorial:
The NASSS rally in support of Anna Hazare and in protest against the Public Order Bill of Sikkim marched strong through the capital on Wednesday. It was not the first rally in support of Anna in Sikkim, but it was definitely the largest, its numbers undoubtedly boosted by its strong anti-State Government stand and patronage of the disgruntled SDF MLA from Upper Burtuk, PS Tamang.
The political aspect of the rally was also made obvious by the frenetic efforts of the ruling party to dissuade people from participating in it. The NASSS speakers, however, insisted that their organisation was an apolitical outfit, but it must have been obvious to anyone who joined the rally that they were making a political statement. There is nothing inherently wrong in a social organisation making a political statement, and given the fact that the politics of the event was so evident, there was no need to dodge the obvious alignment either. NASSS arrived to the Public Order Bill party rather late, announcing its formation and condemnation a day after the State Government had announced its decision to withdraw the Bill. To its credit, it managed to keep the issue alive despite the withdrawal but this is an issue whose shelf-life is limited to the “official” withdrawal scheduled for Friday. The organisation has however won an anti-government constituency which will respond to its calls as and when it becks and the coming days will bear out how well it leverages this consolidation of the Opposition sentiments. NASSS has also proven that it commands better organisational resources than all the opposition parties combined and can thus play an effective role as a pressure group. It is still early days to comment on its effectiveness in this role and how it handles new issues in the coming days will bear out how much appeal it carries in the public domain across party lines.
The NASSS rally cannot escape comparisons to the Rolu Picnic of 2009. Both were self-professed apolitical events with strong political undertones. In general perception, although the organisers insist otherwise, both events were seen as gatherings of PS Tamang supporters. Like in the case of the Rolu Picnic attendance, the NASSS rally can also be expected to lead to organisational reprisals. The ruling party is already engaging NASSS as a political organisation and is making no bones about its condemnation of its activities and arguments. To begin with, it will have to accept that it gift-wrapped an issue with the Public Order Bill to allow NASSS to begin on such a strong note and should a witch-hunt follow in the coming days, it will only consolidate support for it. The decision to withdraw the Public Order Bill is well taken, and instead of adopting a confrontational stance on it, the party should play it down instead of trying to present its virtues. What the party should concentrate on for the present is to work on its organisational strengths. It should redirect its focus on ensuring the various schemes launched in the present term are delivered as flawlessly as they have been projected. The livelihood school initiative and the Chief Minister’s Rural Housing Mission scheme, if delivered earnestly, can fortify the party’s rural base on their own steam and set new benchmarks for governance along the way. These, if complemented by effective follow-up on the announcements made during the CM’s village-to-village tour, will go a long way towards undoing the anti-incumbency sentiments which are bound to strike any government of twenty years [which the SDF would have completed when it goes to the people for votes again in 2014]. The show of strength by NASSS could very well prove to be the shot in the arm required to shake the ruling party and State Government out of complacency and inspire it towards proactive delivery. A gesture towards wider consultations has already been made with the CM’s Sikkim Bhraman, and should now be incorporated as a policy commitment at all levels.

1 comment:

  1. Sikkim Press is well known for backing the winning horse. This editorial however drags journalism to even lower depths.
    Instead of addressing the real issues, the editor seeks to provide one 'prescription' after other for the ruling dispensation.
    One would mistake the blog for an extension of the SDF , PR arm.

    ReplyDelete

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