'All Eyes On Rafah', But None On Manipur & Tripura

“All Eyes On Rafah” became a huge trend on India’s social media this week, with even many celebrities from Bollywood and sports jumping on the bandwagon. However, some netizens pointed out “But No Eyes on Manipur?” — a valid question raising the issue of Manipur. This is not to belittle the pains and sufferings of the innocent people of Gaza. This was to point out that there is also the state of Manipur in Northeast India. Due to the ethnic violence last year, more than 60,000 people have been displaced in this northeastern state. More than 200 people lost their lives. The northeastern state is yet to see a return to normalcy. Piling on to the woes was Cyclone Remal and the southwest monsoon rains that flooded Manipur and disrupted the power supply in Tripura. It is really unfortunate that many among those, particularly the Bollywood celebrities busy posting about Rafah, avoid the topic of Manipur. They are generally silent on the sufferings and pains of the people of Manipur, particularly Meiteis and Kuki-Zomis. The violence has divided the northeastern state sharply. Meiteis can’t go to the hill areas dominated by Kuki-Zomis, while the latter can’t go to the plains dominated by the former. Their pain and suffering also need to be heard. CMs Changed, But Tripura's Power Distribution Continues To Limp The destruction wreaked by Cyclone Remal this week snapped the power supply in Tripura. However, the disruption lasted much longer than it should have, leading to protests and road blockades in different parts of the state by both common people and the Opposition. Allegations surfaced that some parts of Agartala, the capital city, were without electricity for over three days. If this was the condition of the capital city, imagine the situation in the villages of the state. Without electricity, common people failed to get a water supply, making life even more difficult for them. This week, Congress held a procession in Agartala demanding the resignation of power minister Ratan Lal Nath. On the other hand, four Left student and youth organisations — Students' Federation of India, Tribal Students Union, Democratic Youth Federation of India, and Tribal Youth Federation — also organised a procession blaming the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited for the poor electricity supply. Allegations against the power sector in the state aren’t new. There have been claims that the power sector isn’t working properly to address the concerns of the common people — the anger reflected this week is a result of this. The power sector is run by the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited, which comes under the state power department. During the rule of Biplab Deb, the BJP government decided to privatise the electricity sector and gave five electrical subdivisions to private entities. As a result, in some places, the power sector is managed by these private entities. Complaints against these private entities are even more numerous. Common people allege that the electricity supply by these private entities is very poor, with frequent powercuts. Additionally, there are allegations that public complaints aren’t taken seriously. Even the employees working in these private entities receive meagre salaries. This shows how the privatisation of electricity has failed to yield the desired results in this northeastern state. Complaints against the state-run TSECL are no less significant. Importantly, there has been a shortage of employees in the TSECL. It’s high time for the Manik Saha-led BJP government to introspect and take appropriate measures to address the public's concerns regarding the poor management of electricity in the state. Cracks Deepen in the Opposition Bloc in Assam The cracks within the United Opposition Forum in Assam continue to deepen. This week, the state’s unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) blamed the Congress, the senior constituent of UOF, for the failure to reach a consensus on a single candidate from the Opposition in the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency. In return, Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar shot back and blamed the Left party for being adamant about contesting the Barpeta seat “despite having no base there.” Interestingly, he said that the grand old party was ready to give up the Silchar Lok Sabha seat for the CPM. However, the agreement broke down after the Left insisted on the Barpeta seat as well. In response, Talukdar repeated his old statement saying that state Congress president Bhupen Borah had decided his candidature in a meeting attended by former Tripura Chief Minister and CPM politburo member Manik Sarkar. According to Talukdar, Borah was of the opinion that there was no capable Congress candidate from the Barpeta seat. It should be mentioned that CPM nominated Manoranjan Talukdar, the MLA from the Sorbhog seat, against Congress’s candidate Deep Bayan. The Left was supported in Barpeta by Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal, a constituent of the UOF, and also by Baddruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front, apart from many other Left-leaning entities. As a result, the CPM’s campaign got a boost, while there were murmurs that the Congress candidate was "relatively weak". Now, with CPM and Congress leaders openly attacking each other, relations are definitely going to sour between these two constituents of the UOF. Over the years, the Left has lost its ground in this northeastern state, but it still has support in a few pockets. This divide between Congress and CPM isn’t going to benefit UOF, which has been preparing to take on the BJP-led juggernaut of the National Democratic Alliance in the 2026 state assembly polls. The author is a political commentator. [Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.]

'All Eyes On Rafah', But None On Manipur & Tripura

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