Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui assured the House on Monday September 12 that separate enquiries would be ordered on the Jowai jailbreak issue followed by the mob lynching of the undertrial prisoners. Once the Government commits to enquire into any matter of public interest it means only one thing- no further discussion on the matter is required. The MDA Government has too many enquiries in its arsenal. The enquiry into the rice scam is not yet tabled in the Assembly. Nor has the enquiry into the Saubhagya scam. The only reason why the enquiry into the Cheristerfield Thangkhiew killing was made public was because of pressure from groups that have decided to keep the matter alive. On their own the Opposition MLAs are disinclined to push the Government to make the enquiry reports public. The alleged scams in the Social Welfare Department and the MeECL (Power Department) have been brushed off by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma as being inconsequential. He has declared that the Committee going into the Saubhagya scam has found nothing and given a clean chit to the Government. Does the public not have a right to read the findings of these Committees? Interestingly, the Opposition has just allowed the Government to get away with trivialising such issues.
Most inquiries are, ‘quick political fixes’ in response to urgent public pressure. But public money is spent to defray charges of the government nominated members of the enquiry committees. In most cases the terms of reference of the enquiry are vague and generic in nature. Though enquiries are always a government’s response to public outcries, the public hardly has a role in determining the members roped in for the enquiry or in determining the terms of reference.
It is also intuitive to note that not a single enquiry so far has resulted in punishment of the guilty. Every enquiry has acquitted those who have prima facie indulged in corruption or murder. To that extent therefore enquiry committees are a farce and governments know that very well. Also, public memory is short. Today the public have forgotten the dome collapse, the Saubhagya smart meter scam and the rice scam. The respective Ministers who lead these departments have the last laugh. The Opposition, if any is focussed on poor roads, traffic jams, the border resolutions with Assam and the casino. There has been no attempt to corner the Government on the findings of the different enquiry committees and the fixing of blame and accountability on officials/ministers.The Jowai jailbreak and the lynching of the escapees thereafter will go down a cul-de-sac because the enquiry will drag on beyond 2023. There is also the enquiry into the ugly goings-on in Pine Mount School. The MDA takes the cake when it comes to enquiries.
