The chief minister, who met with the three-member Home ministry (MHA) panel Monday morning, said the meeting was conducive.
Rio said MHA team– headed by MHA advisor (North East) AK Mishra and members–Intelligence Bureau joint director Dr Mandeep Singh Tuli and director (NE Division) in MHA AK Dhyani– met many people and were satisfied. Rio said, a fact-finding committee was constituted after ENPO submitted memoranda in 2010 and in 2011and that the findings and recommendation and all the papers were sent to MHA.
He said the ball was now in the court of the MHA. The chief minister expressed happiness that the union home minister Amit Shah took up the matter and invited for discussion and also sent his officials to Eastern area. Rio said the ultimate decision now depended on the home ministry and hoped that “some decision” would be taken.
Meanwhile, sources said that the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), which held its Central Executive Council meeting at CKS Hall Tuensang on Monday reaffirmed to stick by its August 26, 2022 resolution.
As per the August 26, resolution, ENPO resolved not to take part in “any election process of the Central and State until and unless a separate Statehood- (Frontier Nagaland)-is granted by the Government of India, as demanded by the people of Eastern Nagaland under the aegis of ENPO.”
PTI adds: Meanwhile, State additional chief secretary Sentiyanger Imchen, one of those who the MHA team met and discussed, told PTI that it is “in a hurry” to submit its report so that the Centre can arrive at a decision before the state election, which is due early next year.
Imchen said the MHA team has called for another round of meeting with the ENPO and state government officials on December 23 in Delhi. He said that Central team also met the developmental departmental heads including those of the Department of Under Developed Areas, Rural Development, Public Health Engineering, School Education among others.