Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU) has announced that it would resume phase-III agitation starting from October 5, 2016 across the four districts of Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire and Longleng till its demand to allocate the four MBBS seats was met.
In a press release, ENCSU chairman Longre Chang and joint secretary Nokchem Angth stated that the decision to resume the agitation was taken at an emergency meeting of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organisation (ENPO), Eastern Nagaland Gazetted Officers Association (ENGOA), Eastern Nagaland Women Organisation (ENWO), Eastern Naga Students Federation (ENSF), Eastern Nagaland Peoples Union, Kohima (ENPUK) and other Eastern Nagaland Organisations held on September 30 at DUDA Guest House, Kohima. According to ENCSU, the agitation, to be monitored and supported by the ENPO, ENWO and ENSF, would be held in phase-wise as per the following sequence: no movement of government vehicles across Eastern Nagaland till demand was met; if the demand was not met during the above phase of agitation, it would be followed by shutting down of all government offices across Eastern Nagaland till the demand was met and if the demand was not met even during the above phase of agitation, it would be followed by total bandh across Eastern Nagaland till the demand was met. However, ENCSU said all the emergency services, security forces, magistrates on duty and the students appearing end semester exam were exempted from the prohibition. Meanwhile, the union has informed all the government employees posted in Eastern Nagaland to be stationed in their respective place of duty during the course of agitation. It asserted that no leave of any kind be granted during the period of agitation unless on serious health ground.
ENCSU has requested all the citizens of Eastern Nagaland to extend “full cooperation” during the course of agitation as its demand was to safeguard the rights of the people of Eastern Nagaland in particular and the backward tribes of Nagaland in general.
ENCSU expresses displeasure
Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU) has expressed its displeasure at the technical education department in particular and the state government in general for “step motherly attitude” towards the Backward Tribes of the state by taking away four MBBS seats reserved for the BTs with the excuse that there were no qualified candidates.
Further, expressing strong resentment at the responsible authority for failing to deliver justice to the deprived people, the ENCSU chairman Longre Chang and joint secretary Nokchem Angth said the state government and the department were well aware of the grievances expressed by the union, which they said was “admitted as genuine” by none other than the chief minister and the chief secretary.
However, they expressed surprise that the government was not in a position to “rectify errors committed by some officials of the department for their own vested interests.”
ENCSU alleged that the government and the department violated their own assurance given to the union on September 6, 2016 not to fill up four MBBS seats till the cabinet decides on the matter. But, the union said instead the department internally filled up all the MBBS seats including the three additional seats even before the Cabinet took decision on September 26, 2016.
Union affirmed that it opposed the decision of the cabinet to allocate four BDS seats as replacement against the four MBBS seats. It also questioned the government and the department that if there were no candidates qualified to study MBBS then how come the same candidates were found qualified for BDS since the same qualification is prescribed for both MBBS and BDS?
“It is very clear from this that there was deep rooted intention to deprive the BTs of MBBS seats,” they alleged.
ENCSU said it was surprised to know that the department did not make known three additional MBBS seats to the cabinet during its meeting.
It said the department advertised only the fourth additional MBBS seat, which was received after the Cabinet meeting. In this regard, the ENCSU has challenged the department to come out openly in print media about the status of the first three additional MBBS seats.