Recruitment Spree by Manipur Government Admist Turmoil Raises Concerns Over Election Integrity and Kuki Minority Rights

The health of any functioning democracy is indicated by how well a government protects Minority rights and its role in promoting inclusive and harmonious co-existence.

Free and fair election is the soul of a functioning democracy and a level playing field for all, is its litmus test.

The Manipur government has been on a rampant recruitment spree for the past few months. With the current turmoil in the state and the ongoing electoral process, the intention of Manipur government to go ahead with such recruitment notifications raised questions like; What message does it intend to convey when the government’s failure in the state, not only divided people on communal lines but also deprived the victims of their Fundamental Rights as a result of these recruitments? What necessitates the recruitment processes to be set to motion at this juncture? Can the government not withhold recruitments for when peace and normalcy returns in the state? Are these recruitment notifications an electoral gimmick to influence voters and also finance the election expenditures of candidates from the ruling party? Does it then, not violate the Model Code of Conduct?

The existence of Quid Pro Quo arrangements in Manipur for Government jobs is an open secret, why else would Manipur be known for the extortionate “Cha thaknaba” affairs in various recruitment processes? In this arrangement, job aspirants grease the palm of various Ministers or MLAs of the state either directly or through their aides for Cha-Thaknaba (tea). In return for such tea-money, the Minister or MLA ensures that their names are accounted for in the recruited List. It is so widely practised that such illicit arrangements have lost their immoral and illegal character even among the majority public, and have become the tradition and norm everyone must follow to secure any and every state government job under the government of Manipur.

The craze for State Government jobs in Manipur knows no bounds. A peon post is worth Rs 7-10 lakhs of Cha-Thaknaba for ministers and MLAs. The commencement of any recruitment process for any Manipur government job could be noticed by the selling spree for tangible properties by aspirants, apparently a common phenomenon in the state. The higher the grade of the post, the costlier the Cha-Thaknaba is. The mushrooming and success of coaching institutes for SSC, Banking and other central government jobs in the small towns of Churachandpur (Lamka) and Kangpokpi(Kanggui) are glaring evidence that many poor and helpless students and aspirants are against the illegal and immoral practices of Cha-Thaknaba and their determination to find a path of their own to secure jobs from the central government since they are incapable of practicing the norm of Cha-Thaknaba culture that is ingrained to state services of Manipur.

The influence of money today in India’s electoral politics in general and Manipur in particular is immense. The role of insurgent groups and Meitei terrorist outfits as kingmakers in the state is another open secret. What controls the Kingmaker? Money. The money of the candidate or political party is the bridge that connects the Candidate’s demands for their support and the outfit’s support. The extortionate demand by Arambai Tenggol chief Kourounganba Khuman in return for his support in the election did not come out of the thin air, it is rather a declaration that another contender for the role of kingmaker in the state has arrived, like many others of the past.

The recruitment notification of any Government job is perceived by netizens of Manipur as more of a business affair to nourish and enrich the monetary net worth of MLAs, ministers or the Party in power rather than a Government recruitment process. Election is a costly affair, even a big name national political party welcomes every penny to their account. As the money earned by these authorities through the recruitment process is not accounted for under the Receipt of Government Revenue, this money can be misappropriated by Ministers and MLAs who are loyal to their political parties to fund their election expenditure such as buying the blessings of kingmakers for the party candidates and other campaign activities. Government jobs can also act as a mechanism to garner strong local influence and support by striking deals to provide a certain numbers of job vacancies for their kin and close ones in return for their support in the election processes. Thus the recruitment notification against the backdrop of a Lok Sabha election is a serious threat to the level playing field for all and to the conduct of a free and fair election.

Recruitment notification influenced voters too. Aspirants who pay money for their jobs, give their allegiance to the party that the Minister or MLA belongs to. Ground reality suggests more than 70 per cent of the aspirants in the job recruitment pay money to the Minister or MLA either directly or indirectly via their aide. Paying money for the job itself is a risky investment whose success rate is minimal. Thus conformity to the Minister or MLA’s happiness is the route they often seek. Thus until the Recruitment process ends, loyalty to the Minister or MLA is definite. As this influence the voters mindset and behavior, it violates the Model Code of Conduct.

The ground reality in Manipur for Kukis today is grim. The situation deprives them of their constitutional Fundamental Rights to Movement and Residence even within the state as provided under Article 19 (1)(d) and Article 19(1)(e). The deprivation of the above two rights has a spillover effect on their Right to practice the profession of their choice provided under Article 19(1)(g) of the constitution, as the final destination of the final recruitment process necessarily ends at Imphal which for the Kukis is the gateway to Hell. By depriving Article 19(1)(g), the Kukis are further reprieved of their Right to Livelihood under Article 21. The failure to ensure the Right to Movement and Residence under Article 19 implies any recruitment by the government that necessarily needs for their presence in the capital city of Imphal Is a discrimination against the Kukis based on their race and residence. With a 99.99 per cent guarantee of their death, will Kuki dare take the risk of travelling to Meitei dominated areas? Any fool will give in. Thus equality of opportunity for all in matters of public employment is violated, on the grounds of discrimination based on race;that they belong to Kuki, and based on residence; that they can’t have access to the capital city of Imphal.

The Government of Manipur may justify, citing its conformity to procedures established by law. But what of Due Process of Law the Supreme Court in the Meneka Gandhi vs Union of India case(1978) held that the government must subscribe to it along with the Procedure Established by Law. The Right to Livelihood under Article 21 should satisfy the requirement of the Right to Movement, Residence and practice of the profession of their choice under Article 19. As the Kuki are deprived of these rights under Article 19 (1), it implies that the procedure followed itself is unfair, unreasonable and arbitrary.

The deprivation of Kukis from these Fundamental Rights and Manipur government jobs could be another electoral gimmick the government sought to influence and garner the support of the Meitei public in the impending LS election. As the saying goes ‘Actions speak louder than words’, the activities, programs and functioning of the Biren-led government over the past months stand tall as evidence of his Government’s hatred, prejudices and discriminatory practices against the Kuki, to soothe their hatred and ego of the Meitei public. Will the Meitei public favour the redressal of injustices inflicted upon them in the recruitment process? The answer is no and so is the inaction by the government in power. Rather, to make them happy and soothe their ego for votes, the dormant recruitment process which is deprived of sunlight even in times of peace has to see the light in this turbulent time.

The above points are reasons why the recruitment process notified by the Manipur government needs the intervention of the Election Commission of India’s as the process pose threats to a level playing field for all and free and fair elections which are a necessity for the conduct of a healthy democratic election, besides the Model Code of Conduct it violates.