Kohima, Sep. 20 (EMN): On the day the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) unanimously adopted a resolution on integration of the contiguous Naga-inhabited areas for all Nagas to live under one administrative umbrella, opposition MLA and former minister Kuzholuzo Nienu made an unprecedented secessionist statement in the assembly while putting up a supplementary question regarding the implementation of 37% job reservation for ‘backward tribes’ in the appointment of lower divisional assistants (LDA) and sectional assistants (SA) in the PWD (Works & Housing) department since March 1.
Alleging that the government of the day was trying to suppress backward tribes by not giving them the quota in appointments, Nienu stated: “You (People’s Democratic Alliance; PDA government) want the backwards to perish. Today, Phek district has never been a part of frontier Nagaland but I think the backward tribes should join hands and fight for a separate state.”
He was referring to the reply given by minister Tongpang Ozukum that 19 LDA and 42 SA had been appointed since March 1 this year; it was mentioned that out of 61 posts, only six were given to ‘backward’ tribes.
Nienu accused the PDA of violating establishment orders on job reservation and alleged that the PWD minister was trying to ‘mislead’ the members of the house and the people. Claiming that the demand of the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) for “frontier Nagaland” was gaining momentum because of such instances, he said the way the government was working was not to ‘unite Nagas but trying to bring classes.’ If it continues, he asserted, the “backward tribes are going to become slaves to the advanced tribes.”
“All the backward tribes put together, our total amount of government employees does not even match even one advanced tribe’s... With these things, can we sail together in one boat? Can we remain in the same state?” Nienu questioned. He requested Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and minister Ozukum to cancel the appointment orders and apply the 37% job reservation for the ‘backward’ tribes.
The opposition MLA did not stop there, as he went on to criticise Ozukum and challenged that if he (Ozukum) felt he was a leader of the people and not the leader of a constituency and a tribe alone, he should cancel all the appointments that were made from March 1 and reappoint people. Admitting that the minister should “take the lion’s share” but, he insisted, 37% job reservation should be applied. Nienu also demanded that the leader of the house assure to address the matter as he feared that Nagas would become “hopelessly divided.”
Opposition MLA Chotisuh Sazo also raised a supplementary question why only six seats were reserved for the ‘backward’ tribes out of 42 when they were supposed to get 15 minimum.
Joining in the chorus, Naga People’s Front (NPF) MLA Yitachu asserted that roads were the only lifeline of connectivity for people to travel and use. It is the SA who supervise work maintenance than by engineers. He took a personal swing at the young PWD minister that despite being someone who had served as a president of the Naga Students’ Federation, he was failing to do justice to the people.
As far as LDA are concerned, he said, there was a standing order that recruitments should be made for ‘inhabitants of the same district’ while those for the directorate must have to be advertised. He demanded that all the posts be reverted to the districts.
PWD minister Ozukum responded that the LDA appointments were made on need/temporary basis and were liable to be terminated as and when a proper recruitment board conducts the exams. For SA, out of 42, he said six from the ‘backward’ tribes were directly recruited; ten SA were regularised, bringing the total to 16. Therefore, he said 20% quota instead was given and assured that within one year, the 37% would be honoured and implemented. He mentioned that 52 posts for work-charge employees from the ‘backward’ tribes were recently regularised by the department, which indicated that the government was in fact “very much concerned for the backward tribes.”
