Rising People’s Party (RPP) reiterated its suggestion that the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) should lead the Naga peace talks.
In a press release, RPP asserted that elected members of the state assembly were bound by the Constitution of India and “therefore incapacitated to lead the negotiation on Indo-Naga political settlement” betrays a limited understanding of constitutional possibilities.
The party reminded that the Indian National Congress (INC) of pre-independent India was itself a movement and a political party. In elections held under the Government of India Act, 1919, the RPP pointed out that except for the INC, almost every political party participated in the elections.
In 1934, it said INC for the first time participated in the pan-India Central Legislative Assembly election. RPP further pointed out that in the last election before independence held in 1945 even Jawaharlal Nehru himself was a nominated member of the Central Legislative assembly, Delhi.
RPP claimed that both the “Agreed Position” and the “Framework Agreement” were drafts of “Constitutional Reforms” within the Constitution of India.
RPP said Congress (and others) pushed for constitutional reforms within British India through a two-pronged strategy—as elected members working from within and as mass-based bodies advocating for reforms from outside.
RPP said that this strategy led to incremental constitutional reforms through the decades – most notably, the Government of India Act 1909, 1919, and 1935 – eventually leading to the ultimate reform, the India Independence Act 1947.
RPP said members of 14th NLA “may feel that they are hamstrung by their oath to the Constitution of India”. However, RPP said the Constitution of India was rather a “Flexible organism”, adding that the MLAs “imagined incapacity” to lead the peace talks was without substance.
“Our present MLAs should not view themselves as politicians first but as nationalists first, akin to the founding fathers of the state, particularly the 12 Democratic Party MLAs who resigned in 1964,” RPP stated.