[Interview] My Party Is Best Placed To Solve State’s Problems: BJP’s Manipur Inner Candidate Th. Basanta Singh

Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh has a formidable task before him. A former IPS officer whose father was instrumental in spurring the growth of the BJP in the state, Basanta Singh’s name was announced only last week as the party’s candidate for the Manipur Inner Lok Sabha seat. 

Not only had his rivals gotten a head start by then, Basanta Singh also faces resentment against the BJP governments at the federal and state levels for the state’s ongoing ethnic crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced tens of thousands of families. 

But the 59-year-old has hit the ground running. From the day his nomination was announced (March 26), he has been holding back-to-back meetings with his party cadres, supporters and representatives from different parts of the constituency spread over 32 Assembly segments. 

Singh represents one of these constituencies — Nambol in Bishnupur district — in the state Assembly. He is the current education minister in the state cabinet. 

With a clean track record and well-known for his administrative skills, Basanta Singh is considered to be a good pick by the BJP. 

He studied at a reputable school in New Delhi and graduated from St Stephen’s College in the national capital. He then cleared his civil services exams and got into the IPS. He boasts of an unblemished record as an IPS officer and served with distinction in various posts. 

Basanta Singh was also an officer on special duty (OSD) to his father — Thounaojam Chaoba Singh — while the latter was serving as a junior minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Chaoba Singh was the president of the BJP in Manipur and it was during his tenure that the BJP gained a lot of ground in the state. 

Basant Kumar Singh wrested the Nambol Assembly seat from the Congress, which had won from there for four consecutive terms since 2002. 

As an MLA and minister, he had initiated a number of development projects and had also ensured that his constituents benefited from the many central government schemes like the PMAY, Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission.

Basanta Singh gained a reputation for being an honest and efficient minister. His initiatives ensured education for children of families displaced by ethnic strife. He ensured that schools and colleges reopened as the situation returned to a semblance of normalcy.

The BJP candidate spoke to Swarajya about the situation in the state, how he is countering anti-incumbency against the BJP and his strategy for resolving the ethnic divide that has convulsed the state over the past eleven months. 

Swarajya: The BJP is being blamed by many for not being able to end the ethnic conflict, bloodshed and lawlessness in the state. Do you feel that affects your electoral prospects?

Basanta Singh (BS): I don’t think a large number of people are blaming the BJP. Some sections of society may feel the BJP has not been able to end the conflict, and we are reaching out to them to convince them that we are doing everything to ensure that this conflict ends.

And it is natural that the BJP, being in power in both the centre and the state, is blamed for things which happened in Manipur. The party in power always takes the blame for anything that goes wrong. 

But people have started understanding the intricacies of this conflict. What works massively in my favour is the work the BJP government in Manipur has done over the past seven years. The state has witnessed massive development for the first time in its history since the BJP came to power here in 2017. 

In fact, development work and social welfare schemes haven’t stopped even during the past eleven months of trouble in the state. This proves the BJP’s commitment to the people of the state and our resolve to change the face of Manipur. 

Swarajya: Many here (in Manipur) feel that the Union Government has been apathetic instead of being proactive in resolving the conflict in Manipur. What do you have to say on this?

BS: The allegation that the union government has been apathetic is completely false. A number of key decisions have been taken by the union government recently in Manipur’s interests. 

These include the removal of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) that had allowed a huge number of Kukis to enter Manipur illegally and settle down in the state. 

The centre has also decided to fence the Indo-Myanmar border to stop illegal immigration, gun running, drug and human trafficking and various cross-border crimes.

As the union home minister has said, a number of other steps will be taken to identify and deport illegal immigrants from Manipur and protect the interests of Manipuris. 

I am sure that when the contemporary history of Manipur is written in ten or twenty years’ time, the current period will get fair recognition as one where the BJP governments at the federal and state levels initiated many concrete steps to end the ethnic conflict in the state. 

Swarajya: Is your campaign to convince people that the BJP is not to blame for the current crisis in Manipur bearing fruit?

BS: Yes it is. Our campaign has met with huge success. 

People have become aware that illegal immigration of tens of thousands of Chin-Kukis from Myanmar has triggered the current crisis. 

The crisis is a fallout of our stand against this illegal immigration. The state government has also declared a war on drugs, illegal poppy cultivation and drug trafficking. That had angered narco-terrorists, who sponsored the violence. They (the narco-terrorists) projected it as a drive against Kukis even though many Meitei Muslims were also nabbed. 

The state’s anti-encroachment drives (in reserve forests) also angered Kukis even though the fact remains that more Meiteis than Kukis were evicted in this drive. The Kukis projected that drive too as an anti-Kuki move by the state government. 

We’ve been going to the people and explaining these things to them, trying to make them understand that the state government is not to be blamed. People are understanding now. 

Swarajya: Kukis say that illegal immigration is a bogey and the narrative that lakhs of people belonging to the Chin-Kuku-Zo ethnic group from Myanmar have sneaked into Manipur and settled down in the state is false. What do you have to say about it?

BS: Facts cannot be disputed and everyone in Manipur knows the ground realities. It is an indisputable fact that the Chin-Kuki-Zo population has registered an exponential increase and that is because of illegal immigration of lakhs of people belonging to that ethnic group from Myanmar. 

I was a member of the cabinet sub-committee on illegal immigration. The other two members were a Kuki and a Naga. We examined land records, electoral rolls and various other documents, census figures etc and within three months, we could identify 2,500 illegal immigrants. 

If a comprehensive exercise like updating the NRC is carried out thoroughly, a huge number of illegal immigrants will be detected. 

Swarajya: If elected, what will be your top priority?

BS: To bring about understanding and harmony among all communities. My challenge is to resolve the current ethnic conflict. I want to ensure that all displaced people return to their homes. I will get fair compensation packages sponsored by the union government for them so that they can rebuild their homes and their lives. 

Swarajya: But your rivals are also promising the same to the electorate. What sets you apart from them?

BS: One has to work within a system to get concrete results. The truth is that no amount of shouting or forceful speeches in parliament will make a difference. Some opposition MPs had spoken a few times on Manipur in the Lok Sabha, but did their speeches and articulation of the crisis resolve the issue? 

The truth is that the BJP will return to power at the centre and Modi will be the Prime Minister again. And it is only the BJP which will be able to resolve this problem. A non-BJP MP from Manipur will not be able to achieve anything. As an MP, I will be able to convince my party leadership and get things done for Manipur. A non-BJP MP will not be able to do anything and will be a failure. 

Manipur needs me as an MP who will be able to get things done. And having worked in Delhi for many years, I know how things work there. That knowledge and familiarity with the way things work is important in order to get work done in Delhi. 

I am the only one who can deliver. I have high regard for my rivals, but they will be useless to the people of Manipur as MPs.

This report is part of Swarajya's 50 Ground Stories Project - an attempt to throw light on themes and topics that are often overlooked or looked down. You can support this initiative by sponsoring as little as ₹2999. Click here for more details.