A day after it accused the chief minister of T.R. Zeliang of money laundering through “illegal international money transfers”, the Kaito-led NPF Friday said Zeliang no longer has any moral authority to continue in the chair of chief minister. In a press release, NPF press & media cell said T.R Zeliang moreover was also no longer the legitimate leader of the state as he did not enjoy the popular mandate and support of the NPF legislature party nor the DAN legislature party.
Alleging he was now in a “hopeless minority” and was “shamelessly occupying” the chair of chief minister, it claimed that he was clearing files after files for his “personal gains” with all his ministers and parliamentary secretaries locked up in a hotel.
On Zeliang’s assertion that he welcomed any investigation by central agencies on the black money charge, Kaito-NPF group demand that the state government immediately urge the NIA to institute an independent probe. And to facilitate a free and fair investigation, it demanded chief minister step down immediately.
Refutes Dr. Shürho’s claim: On Dr. Shürhozelie’s claim that he had saved the leadership of Rio in the DAN I government, NPF said the rank and file of the party know very well that in 2002 the regional party NPC was more or less non-existent with no semblance of political clout.
However, it said with Rio and several heavyweight leaders joining the party, the cock symbol party with the new nomenclature of NPF managed to wrest 19 seats despite not having a single member in the House. With the astute leadership of Rio and clever political manoeuvrings, it said the strength of the NPF increased to 31 and it was under Rio’s leadership NPF-led DAN could win two more general elections including three Lok Sabha elections.
Maintaining that the destiny of the regional party was revived and reached to its greatest heights under the leadership of Rio, media cell alleged Dr. Shürhozelie had attempted to hijack the people’s mandate on several occasions.
It stated that during the DAN II government, he tried to dislodge the leadership and wanted to become chief minister. Having failed to do so, media cell alleged he requested Imkong L. Imchen and Kuzholuzo Neinu (Azo) to take over the leadership assuring them that he would support them. However, it said both the leaders politely refused his offer, adding that the reward they were given for turning down his formula was suspension from the party in the “most dictatorial and unconstitutional manner.”
Further, media cell alleged that in 2013, when Rio had decided to go to the Lok Sabha, Dr. Shürhozelie again made a failed attempt to become CM by calling a few senior leaders and requesting them to canvass for him. But the leaders flatly refused his proposal, it claimed.
It was under such circumstances, media cell maintained he proposed T.R Zeliang’s candidature and opposed the candidature of Noke, who was the senior most regional leader in the NPF. It said Noke was even more senior to Dr. Shürhozelie, who resigned from the regional party to contest the Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate in 1999 and lost by a huge margin.
However, it said Dr. Shürhozelie “misusing all his powers” disqualified his senior Noke and termed Noke’s candidature during the change of guard as a “strange proposal”. Further, stating that setting up of “so called core groups” by Dr. Shürhozelie was “completely unconstitutional and dictatorial”, media cell said it was “in this manner that he empowered himself to set up a core group to recommend his own name to be re-elected as the president.”
Alleging that Dr. Shürhozelie appointed “so called” core groups to reorganize the party at the divisions and has been setting up core groups for every unconstitutional action, NPF (Kaito group) said these were some of the many reasons why the party “removed him as president and suspended his membership till further orders.”
Thursday, February 19, 2026