A time to heal wounds, says TR Zeliang as he ‘leaves’

Dimapur, Feb. 22 : In his ‘farewell speech’, the outgoing Chief Minister TR Zeliang has acknowledged the “overwhelming support, love and co-operation” extended to him by all in the two years and nine months time that he had been in office.
A brief programme was held at the State Banquet Hall lin Kohima where the new chief minister, Dr Shurhozelie and the new DAN chairman TR Zeliang addressed party workers.
“Forces inimical to the unity and cohesion of our beloved party have tried their best to destabilise our Government from Day One, after I took over the helms of affairs on May 24, 2014. But your unstinted support has enabled our Government to sail through all rough weather,” he said in his speech.
Zeliang recounted the events which unfolded following the announcement of the state government to hold the municipal and town council elections with 33% reservation for women. He said elements opposed to his position as the chief minister “hijacked the agitation” and the agitations took an ugly turn with ‘political intention “written large on the wall”’.

“We could have called for central forces to step in and contain the mob, but we know that the result would be more casualties to our people. Some states have been functioning for months with massive deployments of central and state forces available at their disposal, but we decided against using central forces to confront our own people. And so, for the sake of peace and harmony in our society, and for the love of our party and our Government, I decided to step down,” Zeliang said.
“Now, the time has come for us to heal the wounds through dialogue and negotiations. It will be harmful for the future of our society if we allow mobs, or hurriedly formed adhoc bodies to start dictating, or obstructing the Government’s function,” he continued.
“The fair name of Nagaland – the land that we all love – has been damaged by the recent developments, and we should work hard to repair the damage without any delay. We should not allow our beloved Naga society to sink into anarchy and chaos. We all must make it our bounden duty to heal, reconcile and re-build our society,” he said emotionally.

His message to the people of Nagaland, Zeliang said, was that from now on if such a demand is to be made on someone in high office to step down on moral grounds, the means they use should be equally fair and the ends morally justifiable.
Zeliang, while congratulating Dr. Shürhozelie and his cabinet colleagues, said he was assured that the responsibilities of the Chief Minister’s Office have been passed on to a senior and capable person.
Under the new leadership, Zeliang said to be hopeful that better things were ‘about to take place in the government, in the party, as well as in the state as a whole.’
He appealed to all the elected members and party functionaries to carry the Vision 2030 document forward and ‘translate it into reality.’
Zeliang expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for ‘unanimously’ appointing him as the chairman of the DAN Coordination Committee. He assured that it would be his continued endeavour to work for the betterment of the people in whatever capacity or position he is given.
“Most importantly, I shall continue to give my best to ensure that the Naga political problem is brought to an early and logical conclusion,” he added.

NPCC congratulates new chief minister

The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has congratulated the new chief minister of Nagaland Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu. However, the Congress put in a word of scepticism that the chief minister had “been treating NPF as his personal fiefdom…”
The Media Cell of the NPCC issued a press release on Wednesday.
The Congress party stated: “NPCC congratulates Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu on his swearing in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland after successfully engineering instability to his advantage. Since 2003, he has been treating NPF as his personal fiefdom and it comes as no surprise that he had cleverly manoeuvred himself in outwitting other contenders to become the chief minister in the midst of instability arising out of their blatant disregard towards the voices and sentiments of the people.”
Despite being the “latest winner in the NPFs game of musical chairs” that has seen three occupants within 3 years occupying the chief minister’s chair, the NPCC stated Dr Shurhozelie has been “calling the shots from behind the screens as party president for the past 14 years of NPF misrule and is therefore equally responsible for the sorry state of affairs plaguing the state.”
“The general instability brought about by NPF power struggle especially during the last three years has completely disrupted issues of public importance which the government of the day ought to have addressed,” the Congress stated.
“The frequent change of leadership by the NPF is just a clever ploy to remain glued to the chairs. The problems that have engulfed the state will never be solved and will rather go beyond redemption if NPF continues to remain in power,” the press release added.