\Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on Friday expressed “astonishment” at what it described as “vague, generic and oblique” reference of ushering in lasting peace in the North East region by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, in her address to both the Houses of the Parliament recently, saying it shows that the Government was either callous to the problems of the region or did not comprehend the complexities and peculiarities of the different Sister states.
In a press statement, NPCC working president Khriedi Theunuo said that “total silence” in the President’s address about solving the Naga political issue, the country’s longest insurgency problem, was “something” that spoke volumes about the concern that the NDA government has for the Naga people.
NPCC maintained that Prime Minister Modi, soon after signing Framework Agreement between the Government of India and the NSCN (I-M) on August 3, 2015, “proudly declared” to the world in Dubai that he had solved the Naga political problem. However, NPCC said that in reality, the problem was far from being solved, adding that multiple factions of the Naga political groups have mushroomed over the years.
NPCC said that the Centre subsequently had gone on to sign the Agreed Position with the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups on November 17, 2017.
The Congress pointed out that presently there were 24 factions, and the people continued to reel under the burden of illegal extortion by those factions.
In the face of “inactivity” by the state government and the Central Government, NPCC said the Naga people continued “to live in an era reminiscent of lawlessness.” It alleged that the Ceasefire Monitoring mechanism put in place by the Government of India was there “just for namesake”. NPCC said that the people, especially the business community, had to take the matter in its own hands and resort to lightning closure of business establishments causing immense hardship to the general populace.
Further, NPCC stated that the then Governor of Nagaland and the Centre’s Interlocutor RN Ravi had in 2019 set the October 31 deadline for negotiations, and declared that all formalities for signing an accord for lasting peace and solution for the Naga political problem was in place. However, NPCC said that so far people were not aware of what the solution was or when it would come about.
“What then, is the lasting peace that the Government of India is talking about when the Naga issue and problem has long spilled over to the neighbouring States as well as to Myanmar?” NPCC questioned. It also asked how could there be lasting peace when the Naga political problem was “as fresh and as lethal as it was decades back?”
Meanwhile, NPCC also pointed out that Manipur has been burning for more than a year now, but the government did not deem it fit to be mentioned in the Presidential address.
It said that attitude of the government towards the region in general and the State of Manipur in particular was exemplified when the Lok Sabha Member from Manipur AB Akoijam was interrupted by a member of the treasury bench who declared that Mary Kom was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. “As though that act alone was more than enough to absolve the Central Government to remain a mute spectator to the whole unfortunate turn of events in Manipur,” NPCC said.
It questioned how could there be lasting peace when there had not been “an iota of efforts to restore peace and normalcy” let alone even discuss Manipur, by the ruling dispensation?
NPCC maintained that NDA government 3.0 may like to put its act together and show the Northeastern region as well as the country and the world that the region was very much part and parcel of the Indian Union and that the Union Government cared for all sections of the country.