Dimapur, April 7 (EMN): The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has reported the circulation of fake letters — bearing the signatures of the chief minister and the president of NDPP — to the Election Commission of India.
A press release from the party on Sunday informed that it has “filed necessary FIRs with the concerned authorities (sic) and at the same time, the NDPP has also taken the matter to the attention of the Election Commission of India, as the crime at hand has been deliberately committed to confuse the minds of the electorate during these last crucial days before polling, aimed at negatively impacting the position of the NDPP-PDA candidates.”
“The severity of these crimes includes forgery, impersonation, illegal production and misuse of official state stationary with the intent to mislead the citizens of the state and create confusion in the minds of the masses by resorting to strategies that are illegal and deserving of exemplary punishment. These are very serious political crimes that challenge the very foundations of democracy, aimed at making innocent citizens lose confidence in the system and the government.
“The gravity of the crimes committed are such that they have been aimed at demeaning and insulting a constitutionally and democratically elected state government; it is also a direct attempt towards trying to create instability and confusion within the PDA government in the hope of sowing the seeds of mistrust and breaking the levels of confidence within the coalition; but the PDA stands stronger than ever and will not be swayed or affected by such mindless criminal acts,” read the statement.
“It has also come to the party’s knowledge that the fake letters bearing the forged signatures were initially sent to the BJP leadership and circulated amongst senior political leaders, journalists, media houses and thereafter in social media platforms. These actions expose the fact that it was a political strategy targeted to impact the PDA coalition and defame the PDA leadership, executed by our political adversaries.
“This is not the first time that such a mala fide strategy has been attempted as similar attempts were made in the past too wherein the present Chief Minister and the then Member Of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Neiphiu Rio was targeted by adversaries through the creation and circulation of a fake news to selected digital media platforms stating that he had conducted closed-door meetings with the Congress president with copies of the fake news being shared with the top NDA leaders.
“It is indeed unfortunate that the level of politics in the state has stooped to such a state where our political adversaries, in their desperation and frustration have resorted to such an unbelievable and shocking ‘political’ strategy. However, the NDPP and PDA are confident that the people of the state are not gullible as our adversaries take them to be and the people will not be fooled by such wild gimmickry!
“The chief ministers office as well as the NDPP have already filed necessary FIRs with the concerned authorities and at the same time, the NDPP has also taken the matter to the attention of the Election Commission of India, as the crime at hand has been deliberately committed to confuse the minds of the electorate during these last crucial days before polling, aimed at negatively impacting the position of the NDPP-PDA candidates.
“We therefore appeal to all the agencies to deliver justice at the earliest. The NDPP further urge the people of Nagaland to continue reposing their faith and confidence in the NDPP-PDA coalition and its leadership,” it stated.
No knowledge, says Therie
The president of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee, K Therie on Sunday claimed that neither him nor the general secretary of All India Congress Committee in charge of North East have any “knowledge about the alleged fake letters of NDPP.”
In a press release, Therie claimed that Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been fooling “Delhi Congress leaders” since 2015 with the help of some state Congress leaders. He stated that the NPCC has committed to support the NPF “and we mean what we say.”
According to him, the signatures in the alleged fake letters “appear to be genuine.” Therie went on to say that “those papers were perhaps used to convince money-minded NPF members to support NDPP and BJP while social media is rife with allegations that they have accepted crores (sic).”
Therie welcomed the NDPP’s decision to file an FIR.
