 Salam, you're watching NewsClick, we're in Imphal and making us look good this evening is Alfred Arthur, the sitting Indian National Congress MLA from 44 Assembly Constituency which is Ukrul, part of the one of Manipur's Hill districts. He was elected as the representative for the district in 2017 and is currently in the unique situation of being perhaps the only sitting MLA in the country who is campaigning for reelection but cannot do so in his own constituency. We'll get to get into that a little bit later in this conversation but he doesn't know yet but we're also using him to get a general sense of what the Congress and the Progressive Secular Alliance is seeking to achieve through this election and how they view the situation on the ground as it stands about three four days before we go to the first round of polls on Feb 28th. Thanks for your time. First of all as of today how do things stand for the Congress and the larger alliance? From my perspective it's clear that under the present dispensation that is the small India that is in the state. You know we can't continue longer the entire country will disintegrate. So the people also realize that it's more of you know fascism sort of thing and the other day when Rahul had come to infall he had said the same thing that he had said in parliament that India is a you know union of states so the importance that the Congress party gives to not the secular part but I would say the plurality of India that is the core of India. We are plural. See we were never Christians. We converted much later in 1896 but it's the beauty of India being plural and being recognized that is as a union of states and so you accept that each citizen across the nation has equal rights. This the Congress party provides. I'm here in this party not because of running after any sort of a position but it's believing that the ethos and ideals of the nation somewhere you draw a line. See we as politicians we all make mistakes along the way. We apologize to the electorate and hopefully or willfully they'll accept it and they let us also move along. Now in all of this is melee. The thing here is the biggest picture of being a citizen is that being totally eroded slowly by slowly but one part here is leaders across the country across the spectrum within this particular alliance in the nation as well as in the states. People realize that India is disintegrating. This is why India will never become a superpower neither will it you know take its place among the nations to be a leader with this sort of a party heading. So we also have you see leadership issues or we have party you know internal issues but at the same time the country has to understand that where actually does everything flow down to in the end. It cannot be a single leader if we believe that it is a union of states then someone as insignificant as me should also have an equal role be it in UP be it in you know Jharkhand or be it in Gujarat and this I certainly feel that the Congress Party has always provided and one basic example being that so many leaders from the Northeast they were given space from Nagaland lead from Meghalaya lead from Manipur to actually represent the voice of the Northeast to how it was actually implemented at ground that's a little different. So now the youth are restless their understanding GDPC from the state of Manipur we are close to the last where the last in the Northeast and second last in the country per capital income. So what does this say it says that you know governance is zero and the only thing that one is worried about is the image and the view of the majority which is just you know you shove it down your throat this we don't accept I will never accept and for this reason there are different ways of voicing this one you be the voice of the people or the other is you go the undemocratic way since the nation is built on laws we're trying to follow that and the people are realizing I'm sure the people will throw them out in the in the coming elections. In the last 2017 assembly elections the Congress Party was the single largest party with 28 seats if I'm not wrong but were unable to form the government what were the challenges then and how are they different today. What happened then the whole country knows this is always the modest operandi of the BJP you know Jhasa Ve Chori Karlo and Sarkar Banaw so this sort of thing too it has to change the like I say they somehow forced the way through form the government what happened in the process you completely murdered democracy you had an MLA from the Congress who was not even sworn in in the house but his certificate says very clearly INC MLA and you're sworn in as a minister now where does the tension will go where is the Constitution see there are so many MLA's who shift camps without resigning I still give them you know benefit without saying that it's okay that is also very wrong but yet but this there is you know the legislature and the executive there is a separation of this totally in the country now you don't even believe that you are a legislature that is why you just flout all rules of law and you become a minister so all these sort of things are just the game plan of the BJP and they say that the Congress has been doing this in the last 50 years 60 years see the country especially the Yuvah the youth they believed in Narendra Modi when he said that you know a government of change sub-casad sub-caficas hopefully we'll get to that later but it's totally you know a lie how much longer you're going to deceive the youths of this nation you cannot people you know in the far-flung interior borders like for example my my constituency who cruel we hit you know we're covering the international boundary with Myanmar even people from the further most far-flung areas they realize that we have been taken for a ride so how we could not form the government then and why we will form the government now is very different NPP believed then in Modi and Amitabh Ji's you know slogan of everyone together and everyone growing together so this is not everyone growing together when the Congress set up camp in 2020 to dislodge this government the BJP government what happened was somehow the Kajol and somehow they convinced that the NPP to come back into the fold of the BJP and they give them give them back all their you know ministerial birds and the positions but you see three four months down the line two ministers are dropped and I heard and I believe that the corner at Sammas sister also supposed to be that was assured at that point of time that you would be in the union cabinet that also is not given so how do you expect you know at least we may have nothing in the northeast we may be many things which people tell us but one one one thing is that a little bit of dignity is there in our tribalism we believe that you know whatever God has given us at least be a dignified citizen so we try I hope that when you went to cruel today or yesterday the people there are poor you know we may be not you know up to the literacy mark of the rest of the country or as literate as people want us to be but we hold our heads high and then try to live as dignified citizens of this country so now this is exactly the reason why the NPP be so be the JDU nobody wants to truck up with the with the BJP now nobody now the funny part is the BJP is going hammer on tons and all its coalition partners saying that we have nothing to do with BJP we have nothing to do with you know the NPP drop them from the council of ministers who stopped them you could have dropped them you know like a just like a drop of a hat remove them it's the at you you you are a minister at the mercy of you know the chief minister he can do as he wants you're not dropping them because you are still going continuing in the government at the same time you're lambasting your coalition partner so what does that say about you and your character when you are you know shouting at your own coalition partners and you're moving together in the cabinet so governance cannot be this way it's the people that in that is the people that are destroyed or decimated so the people realize and that's why this time it's assured it'll be a Congress led NPP led or JDU led anything but it will never be a BJP led or BJP coalition government because the people of this state are fed up totally fed up of the you know the BJP let's say the scenario that you are presenting pans out and on March 10th either the Congress or the NPP or the JDU leads a new coalition hopefully a secular coalition that works against the what has been a shift towards majoritarian politics without any sort of unabashed shift or move rather what we'll see what will we see happening differently in terms of real issues that especially young people women in the state who we see actively are very much involved in the economic life of the state and other aspects of it but underrepresented when it comes to standing contesting elections even perhaps in the bureaucracy what will we see happening differently in the next five years after 2022 see everyone talks of India's production levels with regard to agriculture or horticulture in a light sector Manipur too is a state whereby for example the hills which constitute 90% we're a totally a gradient state so our population they depend hundred percent on agriculture in the hills now in the valley at least in fall great in fall area a lot of population me but five to seven lakhs they're self-sufficient because they're either employees or entrepreneurs or you know businesses self-sustaining businesses but the rural part of Manipur which is you know close to 50 to 50 percent of the population remaining population this is where the entire focus lies why is it that you have the entire government of India giving incentives on agriculture to farmers a six thousand grant rupees grant that was in batches of two two thousand you have the entire farmers waiting it cannot be like that you're empowering people is not you can't appease keep appeasing people and then lead them further and further into poverty learning to depend on the government you have to empower them now what the Congress party has actually thought of and we have also put down in a manifesto this time is that we're going to go full swing into whereby we can start producing productions have to grow there has been no production all of these years I realize since independence of this nation now I don't know why this has happened so but where we are concerned now that is within the party also there is the old guard the young guard everyone together one thing good about the Congress is that we listen to each other we may fight how much but we never fight open in the public we fight within the family so now the thing here is production levels will grow because 90% of the state of Manipur when the hills are not utilized when the budget provisions are you know absolutely totally like law you're giving you know five crores to the hills and you're giving 50 crore to the valley how will this you know increase production or how are you going to ensure that your GDP is going to grow it's never going to grow it's going to get worse and worse so all these things have to stop so we're going to get in the best possible economic planners economic advisors to make sure that we use the land proportionately properly and let it be the resources that we have or the finances the income the income that we have every single parameter of income that we have is being used only for creating capital assets you cannot do that you have to create jobs for people and the only way of doing that right now is at least with concern to the hills which I represent and knowing of the last four years of budget because I took the expenditure from the government of Manipur the floor of the house on the 23rd or 24th of August of 2021 where but the entire thing I've put it in public display saying that when this is the budgetary provision and it's a lopsided budget provision and how do you expect the state to grow this is exactly why we are last we are going to make sure that the planning and allotment of budget will be people centric and make sure that people are employed now how does one people employ for a state like Manipur we think that everything depends on the government sector public sector it is not so if that was the case then India is a hundred thirty crore population what is the total employees by the union or by all the states put together so this is you know the most major area where at least the present Congress party is going to make sure that production levels with regard to where the local population is experts on see since generations our families back in the villages they know exactly that it's going to rain or it won't rain this year so there should be no paddy this year we should do this this year so all of these things that we are already automatically equipped with one has to tap this and make sure that we use this and then we start producing in such a way that it has never happened in the last 70 years of Manipur's existence a further question specifically on women tanker Gandhi is of course taking a more active role in leadership of the Congress party in UP we've seen a much higher number of women candidates being fielded by the Congress that hasn't doesn't seem to have translated to Manipur as such only 17 out of the overall number how what are your thoughts on this this is a very tricky question you see it's a difficult thing we talk of women empowerment now why I say it's difficult is because at least I know personally from my family that the women are so much more intelligent than the men so this is exactly what I'm saying so that the the solution lies in giving them the same space as men not on reservation not on giving them you know some sort of a quota give them that equal fighting space this is what we say at least within the party also isn't leaving open because this is not a boxing match or a wrestling match that is where you know you need brute physical strength but here it's you know a lot of intelligence is required wisdom is required a lot of patience is required and that I think all those all of those qualities are with women more than with men so the problem is giving that equal space it should be across the spectrum so in the young guard in the young generation this is exactly what we feel that you give total freedom for women to participate and it should be based on merit everything on merit not on women or men this is exactly the reason with India's downfall today saying that we are going to do 33% for women now you cannot have an unreliable or unqualified person just because the womb the person is of a particular gender now what happens when you put in a person who is not fit for a particular position then the person included because this is electoral democracy this nation now you are giving all of your hopes on a person who is not equipped enough so this is why we have to create the space to bring in the best women in politics and for that very reason this congress party is reforming this I know very clearly now what Priyanka Ji is trying to do in UP it's see she's she understands the pulse of UP this you know much better I think a lot of educated youth across the country know that UP is the heartbeat of the country politically because it has too many seats and the equations and the stakes are too high so now you have to appeal to the voters as how they live their life at ground today so she is trying to adapt to that and trying to get the women on board saying that we have to jointly or you know to cohesively together change the course of the democratic process of the nation but in the core of the party we have made it very clear today because we are privy to a few conversations within the party across the nation and it's where we are inviting and it is open for women who are actually very qualified to come and compete and be part of the entire democratic process within this party also coming now to a slightly more micro questions to do with your own constituency and of course a central theme of or something that's I think brought a lot of attention to your work as a legislator which is the Hill areas committee autonomous the bill that you led the drafting of which hasn't yet been tabled in the Manipura assembly could you first of course just out and very briefly I know you've gone into many details of the bill and it's available for people to read and watch videos on etc etc so not too much but but what is it about 371 C and this bill that will sort of reduce the divide that exists very clearly in Manipura between the hills and the valley cutting things very short and summing things up 371 C is the relationship between the Union of India and the hills of Manipura like Rahulji had said Union of States I had said plurality now the pluralism within the hills of Manipura different ethnic communities are there yet it is India understanding the uniqueness of Manipura to that is the plurality of how the hills are actually you know conceptualized so this is why the Union of India enacted article 371 C and became a law 1972 28th June 1972 was when the presidential proclamation came the problem is when rules of law are not followed obviously then there's bound to be trouble somewhere and the other part of this is that it has been published in the rulebook since 1972 in the rules of procedure and conduct of business of Manipura legislative assembly now India functions under legislative supremacy so now within this since it's there in the rulebook and you are claiming before before the entire nation before a state that we are following these particular law or these laws that are there in the rulebook and you're not following it so today what we are saying is that we want to follow we want to use it because you're using it for the last 50 years so when we say that we want to start using it for the welfare of the advancement of the people in the hills see there is no power on earth that can say no one part second part as a legislator let us just to you know give a short example small example let us assume that I want I'm bringing a private members bill right any private members bill before it is introduced in the house or discussed nothing can be rejected you have to introduce it now with regard to the Hillary's committee we have been you know mandated and authorized by a presidential proclamation which is the same as the union of India or the Constitution which has provided now we are allowed we are permitted to take resolutions recommend to the state for any legislative action or executive action what we have done this time is this bill that we have formulated we have set it across the government of Manipur it is their duty their bounding duty to at least table it in the house introduce it and discuss it now no matter how wrong they think the bill is or how out reached we are with regard this bill they have no choice the system is such that like I said earlier even when a private members bill any private member you cannot reject it no matter what you put in that bill only after introduction can you reject it now this is a Hillary's committee bill by 20 members of this state which is one third and you are just keeping it in cold storage now it shows that rule of law is not followed in the state now if rule of law is not followed in a state how do you expect the state to actually you know grow or how do you expect the state to function you are actually saying that the state has failed you don't follow rule of law in the house there are times when the executive they do what they want with governance but the house you cannot so when they're not tabling or introducing this bill you're directly countering or challenging the constitution of India and a state assembly is not empowered to do that how how will the ADC bill the autonomous district council bill empower the hills and make decision-making like like it says in the wordage autonomous see there are four schedules in the presidential order the first second third and fourth schedule the second schedule are the subject matters whereby the Hillary's committee is permitted or mandated because all of these schedule matters are within the purview that is there in that order all of these schedule matters will be within the purview of the Hillary's committee the Hillary's committee is a legislative body within the state legislature schedule for so very clearly says the relationship between the Hillary's committee and the state legislature and whereby any law or any bill that these Hillary's committee recommends or what the state legislature if it feels that the you know Hillary's committee is not empowered for that they can filter it out they can change things they can amend things but both as what has been reported by the Hillary's committee and the one that has been passed by the state assembly both have to go to the governor and the governor's discretion not the directions of the government as such but the discretion of the governor will be final in those schedule matters the first is economic planning and development within the plan allocation of the state for the hills which is so clear that it is the hill people see India understood the disparity in the allocation of legislature one third in the hills and two third in the valley share size ten percent of the valley and you have two third and ninety percent in the hills and you have only one third so they understood that there would be a disparity in development so this is the reason why economic planning and development within the plan allocation of the hill areas is a mandated schedule matter of the Hillary's committee it has never been done so when that is not done the people that know the pulse and exact core areas as to which needs addressing for progress in the hills are they elected from the hills this is exactly the reason why the union of India felt it necessary when statehood was granted in 1972 that before statehood was granted article 371 C was inserted if you don't follow that the hills obviously have gone totally no from back to worse so with this bill what we have done is as per rule of law and as per the act we have only said we will follow this act because Indians in our knowledge intelligence felt that this should be within the purview of the Hillary's committee now when the legislature enacts something it is for the executive to follow the Hillary's committee is the mini-assembly for the hills as per that act the only thing is that since there can be no assemblies in us two assemblies in a state we have to forward it to the cabinet council and they bring it as a bill they cannot change it they cannot review it they cannot amend it but just introduce it and if anything needs to be removed or it needs to be rejected it can only be done in the house that is the rule of law they have not done that now with this bill when you follow rule of law that is our hope all you know acts in the country they are meant to be followed when we don't follow we follow a little bit or sometimes we say that this is not good for our people that is another thing when the executive don't follow but when the legislature when the lawmakers stop following the rule of law then you tell me what would happen where do we stand it's a banana republic then fair enough it does does this in some way also link up to at least from your perspective and your thoughts a wider or more long-term solution to the naga question I cannot you know directly speak on the naga political issue because when the ceasefire was declared in 1997 the entire country you know was a lot of the ray of hope thinking that decades of the naga problem would be solved it was at the prime minister level country would be held in the talks to be held in the third country and it would be without any preconditions now when I don't know what are the conditions since it's without any preconditions I don't know the conditions under which the talks are being held or under which the framework agreement was arrived at then it is not like competence to say whether this would actually solve the naga political issue or not in the meantime the tribals of Manipur of which you know many are not part of the naga community but as tribals it is only our duty to make sure that the tribals grow now what how much this will reflect on the naga political issue I cannot say genuinely because I am not privy to the discussions of those talks neither do I know anything about what the contents of the talks are or the framework agreement which was in 2015 within the Modiji government and the NSNIM so the naga political issue which also includes the naga national political groups NNPGs with this also we don't exactly know what is the content so this bill I don't know whether this will help or whether this will you know promote the naga political issue or not but I definitely know that all the tribals in Manipur this will definitely change the course for the tribals in Manipur. So as the people we've spoken to many have been reluctant to of course come out and say who they are supporting etc etc because of real political reasons and issues that you understand of course but perhaps the rest of India doesn't understand that clearly but many most have appreciated your efforts and the vocalness with which you've addressed a lot of these issues pertaining to all of the tribal people of the state despite that you're unable to go to cruel to run your campaign from there despite being the city MLA explain this dichotomy a little bit now how would I put this across to you it's very simple yet very complex again see my dad he's 95 today how you know he's explained things to us is how you win an election is more important than winning an election the process of winning the election is more important than winning we have believed in that last year too I was here I was stationed here and God willing and the people being with me I sail through I did not go for a single campaigning this time too I feel it's not much different the only thing is the people have five years of my work to actually think whether I'm competent or not it's for them to easily decide whether I should continue or not I've always said during my entire 2012 elections 2017 elections and this 2022 elections also I say very clearly that campaigning should not be restricted to you know just a month or two and that be the parameter for selecting people who have ability or are capable you take the you know four years and ten months as the parameter so I I always felt that I should be touring you know somewhere in Europe or the holidaying and the people should judge because whether I had given my hundred percent in four years and ten months so for me in fact it's a dream come true that I don't have to actually campaign I've always felt that this is how politics should be you give your four years ten months and the last two months before the elections you go wherever you want enjoy life at least you have two months to do what you want but the sad thing and the irony of Manipura and India is that you have the entire political class the party the government everyone pushing and pulling putting everything into it like as though your whole life matters and your stakes are everything everything is put in there so for me I'm you know I'm grateful that I have very dedicated and dedicated and honest supporters people who are like you know hard rock behind me and my family so no matter what sort of inducements or be some other form of increments you can say or whatever sort of illegal activities that take place my people don't fall prey and that's why did you just keep a very low profile because like my dad says how you win the election if the people have to be with you so if the people are with me I'm confident that I'll win one part the other part we've never spoken ill of anybody in our lives from the beginning till now I have nothing to say against other candidates just to say that you know wish them well also so the people actually understand that being here also it's not much different so what I'm here with I'm a cruel it's still me and if I've actually managed to reach out to the people then it should not be very difficult to actually win an election or lose an election fair enough the armed forces special powers act is something that cannot be ignored when having any conversation about wider politics in Manipur and governance in Manipur and of course livelihood in and life in Manipur the ruling dispensation the BJP government has not mentioned in their manifesto despite saying that it's now a peaceful state you have how if the Congress does come to power with the kind of mandate the BJP has in the center how will you deal with this question this is something this particular act is something you know which the entire northeastern areas where it is actually applied it's been very disturbing be it for the elders be it for the youngsters or be it for the younger generation to come this is one of the most disturbing acts that have taken place in the nation now at that point of time in the 50s what was the actual call or the reason behind enactment of this only the people of that time would know India was also new then we had imported most of our rule of law from western countries so we were not equipped enough I feel the nation not the lawmakers the nation was not ready for our Constitution so whereby we all we all felt that all of those laws and acts which are part of which which are in the Constitution of this nation would be good for this nation now we were mired in the caste-based system before 1947 the difference that this act that was it in in paper or technically it empowered people but at ground level the people also divided which we still remain today otherwise we would not have a BSP or neither would we have a JDU or we would not have you know this this summit up what Samajwadi party all of these parties which are if all of their fundamentals are based on caste we would not have this because the laws would have been perfect by itself the difference is the people were not ready now armed forces special powers act if this act was in a place like the US or in England maybe maybe no matter how draconian it was because the people or the citizens of that nation or the law enforcement agencies of that nation are most you know most of them are ready to actually understand violation of human rights but yet it still happens in those countries too so even when in such developed nations without an armed forces special powers act there too they have excesses there so now in a country like India so divided our cultures are our customs are and the different polls the difference in our polls should have made sure that an act like this should have never been passed because you would never understand the sentiments of a person from Arunachal and a person from JNK and a person from Kanyakumari so when you don't understand this when the people emotionally don't integrate as one first you cannot bring laws by force thinking that you would suppress because that is not part of democracy my leaders in the Congress do say all the time saying that the beauty of democracy is you listen to the voice of the weakest and bring it apart with the strongest and you make sure that this cohesively works as one now when India a country as big as India are in a 30 crore population that is India today and Nagaland 20 lakhs when an act is brought in force by India when today also when the present Nagaland state is only 20 lakhs and you are shutting down the truth of every single citizen now in the Northeast with one of the worst legislated laws of that time I think it's time if India is saying that we should be part of the permanent counseling the Security Council of the UN when we are claiming our place among the groups of nations that are the most advanced I think it's time that this act should go it has to go because when most developed nations also they don't you know dare to bring in such laws and such acts then what does this say about our nation it says that if our people are integrated and you know emotionally one today this act should go as a first thing to show the country that no matter how plural we are or no matter how different we are across our cultures and our customs we are one as a nation so you cannot segregate and isolate one particular area that is northeast with draconian laws and say that the rest of the country is perfectly fine so the first thing is the nation comes first and since the nation comes first a law like this should go immediately fair enough I completely understand your reasoning of it but in terms of real polity how will is it something that is actually achievable the removal of this act see the Constitution says we the people now it is a representative form of governance governance in the US there are certain laws for example concurrent list state list central list law and order being one one that is within the state list states have absolute you know authority over law and order now you tell me this when a law like a spa cannot be touched by state what does this say my leader came to Manipur just recently and stay and and stated very clearly before a crowd of 25 30,000 he said that India is a union of states and each culture is each custom each people must be respected across the spectrum of this nation now you tell me then when a law like a spa whereby like I say again law and order is a state subject and yet you put in a law like this and in the guise of national security you infringe upon every single fundamental right of a citizen of this nation this is not justice and India is not what is being projected through this act India as far superseded that today countries across the nation look up to India be it in our election processes be it in aid with regard to covid virus to the vaccines that were exported out to so many nations we are saying that we are the big brother today as equal as the US but our actions on ground within domestic level we're not equipped so this is that state state state laws being so very clearly defined within state list and law and order also being part of state law I think a spa should do a great extent if the union of India if they feel that this law is to stay for some more time then the Supreme Court should step in and say that no then they should be part of the concurrent list or they should you know there should be a huge stakeholder should be the state because India cannot just bulldoze and say that like I say you're not using this law for eliminating extremism or anti-social elements within the nation against the nation you are using this to target so many civilians so many extra judicial killings in the state of Manipura the Supreme Court has taken notice the entire nation knows today yet you still feel that a spa should continue so that being a parameter the states like being a union of states I think all the states in the country should rise up as one and say that you are infringing upon the federal rights of a state when you do something like this if needed if at all needed at any point of time to try and counter insurgency or be it you know extremism whatever it is the states have to be a stakeholder in this when you are saying this is a union of states and in the at the end of the day you say that this should be just the mandate of the center what does that say it says that any point of time you can just trample on the rights of the state now without the state what is India India is nothing this is exactly the reason why I you know I would appeal that the all the states in the nation we come together and say that this action go it's a kind of collective action I think that many of us especially young India would would really appreciate and like to see as much of a dream as it might be where we are today finally how one part of the narrative that is coming across particularly in the valley is that voting for the BJP means you have direct access to the central government which is as of today all powerful I can understand the narrative how do you how how far do you think you have been successful with this reason sort of campaign making logical arguments to counter that sort of see what one has to understand first is the fundamentals of governance be it BJP or be it Congress be it any party in government in the states for example the state of Manipura the funding process is such that it is a 90-10 ratio basis our income should be 10 and the 90 is given as grant by the union of India when my income don't tell me that when the BJP comes the income has increased so much that because your expenditure can only be commensurate to your income so when the Congress was in power the difference between the Congress and BJP is that the Congress you know we have so many experienced leaders a lot of experienced leaders that you know that you have reached a saturation point and that you're going to go into overdraft the difference with BJP is that how many times they've gone into overdraft and the RBI has to step in saying that overdraft points here now you stop you have reached your limit the only thing here is that how does one govern within your limited resources we know our limit the Congress party knows its limits this is so very clear this is why within this funding pattern of 10 and 90 ratio nobody can deny this be it a Congress government be the BJP government the only advantage should be special packages by the union of India I dare the BJP government today you tell us what special packages have you given for Manipura you tell us we know it's nothing beyond what is already our allocated budget in the you know Department of Development of North Eastern region be the North Eastern Council be the minority affairs ministry any ministry you talk of or anything from the union of India is all within budget location so you have done nothing different when for example the UPA was there so many capital assets were created by the union of India as special packages special plan assistance those days they would give to the tune of 800 crores 900 crores to cash staffed economy like Manipura we depend solely on the union of India because there's no production so this is why our form of governance and the BJP's is so very different but like I say there is no advantage BJP has ruled five years I dare them tell us they could not even complete the central circuitry which I'm sure you have seen if you haven't I would request that you see just across the road next to my plan next to my house here if you go across you'll see 90% of works that were completed during the Congress tenure in 2017 it's still there so you tell me they should have at least finished that they are trying but I don't know what you know they are stuck with all this while now they're just going around it you know inaugurating all programs that the Congress has initiated and the Congress has taken up the only thing that the BJP has done is that also within the budget allocation of the state to the Ministry of Donor as soon as the BJP government game I guess they went and you know requested the union of India the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister had allocated 150 crores for establishing women markets in the hills and that was also within the budget allocation of the donor ministry that is the only thing that they have come up with and now if it is within the state allocation state allocated budget I would have much preferred that you make my district hospital into a hundred or 200 bedded give us an MRI you know MRI machine the city scan and operating all of those things I would have preferred that so much they would have inaugurated a 15 crore market shed where the first floor is totally unused nobody uses it so then what are you looking at the hills at you're looking at it from a milking cow point of view that you give it to your near and dear ones the contracts they make money and that money is transferred to the valley this is this is why this bill it'll ensure that all of this will be done with if Alfred things go according to plan and you get to fight this fight both for federalism as well as within the state itself and the Congress is leading a coalition a secular coalition do the tribal people of Manipur have the have the chance to see one of their people as the leader of that coalition very very hypothetical what you're asking because one thing my dad always you know told me when I was growing up is in politics there should be no hypothesis that is the most dangerous thing the only thing is that it should be logical you should have visions you have dreams but you have to make sure that you take your people to a logical conclusion now see what happens when the results come out I have to leave it to that so it's just not a 10 days away now in another 10 days time you'll know exactly who is going to be what I'm sure the BGP is going to go hamper and tons to try and you know cobble up a coalition again but when you have mostly you know this satisfied and angry coalition partners that they have had enough of the Bajapa then when our people come in which I'm very sure it will if the state is ready and if the nation is ready Manipur is not an exception they have always made space for youngsters to always lead today I think that within the BJP itself they have you know removed all of their elderly so-called statesmen that were that were early prevalent the ones that built the BJP today maybe I would say on the same lines then that it's time for Moriji also to pave way for someone as young as Anurag Thakur to take his position I would very much prefer and Anuragji to come and be the next Prime Minister of this nation so likewise in a state of Manipur too supposing you have the BJP coalition coming I would also prefer that it should be an Archimo you see a congressman his father his grandfather was one of the first party presidents of the of the state they are dynamic people these people should be projected by the BJP so also by the Congress or by any party but it all depends on what the results would be I can only request that if the BJP does form the government we should make you know younger people you have a Prithviraj from Moira all these youngsters who are dynamic who are ready to take you know things directly by the horn and try and bring change to the state I think those people should be given a chance definitely thanks very much there you have it a March 10th is when all this will stop being hypothetical and we'll be back here maybe to have another chat with Alfred to discuss where things stand at that point until then keep following news clicks coverage of the elections across the country not just in Manipur also five other states are in the middle of this electoral process visit our website you stick dot in for updates thanks for watching bye