Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu, MLA and NPF legislature party leader, on Friday urged the government of India to “stop fooling the Nagas once and for all” and bring about a logical conclusion to the long-standing Naga political issue. Speaking at the 65th general session of Phek Student Union (PSU) at Phek village, Azo asserted that the non-implementation of the “Naga Accord” was one of the major issues concerning the Nagas.
He maintained that after concluding the political dialogues with the Naga political groups, the Centre signed the Framework Agreement with the NSCN (I-M) on August 3, 2015 and the Agreed Positions with the WC, NNPGS on November 17, 2017.
Azo said the Naga people were made to understand that “all the major issues were hammered out and that only the small details were left to be worked out.” NPF legislature party leader claimed that the Centre’s interlocutor for the Naga talks had fixed October 31, 2019 as the deadline for conclusion of the talks “to which the NPGs have given their consent.” However, he lamented that the Centre chose to “unnecessarily procrastinate in providing a roadmap and arriving at a final solution.”
Azo, therefore, said that even after more than 8 years of signing the Framework Agreement, more than 6 years of signing the Agreed position and more than 4 years of the deadline, an accord was yet to see the light of day.
“The unnecessary delay on the part of the GoI has resulted in the mushrooming of more factions from 16 Naga Political groups in 2019 to 22 groups at present. I believe it is high time for the GoI to honour its commitment,” Azo said.
Azo also stated that the Centre “should not forget that sovereignty is the birth right of Nagas.”
He reiterated that the state government had affirmed on the floor of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly that it was willing to step down as when required to pave the way for the smooth transition of power.
Meanwhile, Azo expressed concern over “growing religious intolerance”, which he said was posing a threat to the religious minorities in India.
Despite the secular and “religiously tolerant” Constitution of India, Azo said sporadic and sometimes “serious acts of religious violence” tend to occur. Citing a report of the United Christian Forum (UCF), he said that “there have been 525 attacks against Christians in India in the first eight months of 2023” led by vigilante groups of “particular faith” who were allegedly receiving “support from people in power.”
Further, he said that disruption of prayer meetings and ban on holding of religious festivals were increasing. Azo said there had also been instances where threats of disruptions of religious gatherings and festivals have been openly announced. “If these trends were to continue, India known for its Secular ideals and often regarded as the largest democracy in the world may become a thing of the past,” Azo stated.
He, however, welcomed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation during the last Christmas celebration with the Christian community.