Nagaland still suffers from the lack of protocol in the way things are run in almost any organisation, especially the government offices, and also yet to achieve that level of propriety in its day to day conduct of dispensing its services and duties. The usual unapologetic nature of the Naga people is also one of the factors that have led to such a scenario, but there are certain limits that should not be crossed. It was covered earlier in this column how an email from an organisation was received by all the newspapers from the official email of the chief minister’s media cell and it was alleged to have been blown out of proportion by people concerned in the social media. However such particular instances are only demeaning the highest office in the state.
The Naga People’s Front party, the single largest party in the state, probably was never in such a crises-ridden tenure like the present one started in 2013. The political drama actually started immediately after the election results were declared and the tussle for cabinet berth and it continues till date. The public exchange of words between opposing parties have never touched such low ebb in the history of the state. Unlike the earlier years where persons of repute with statesmanship were entrusted for such exchanges and press statement, these days anyone with some skill over the language are assigned to be the unofficial spokesperson. The language used have become coarser and more caustic, and some just plain obscene and the degree of crudeness constantly increasing with every issue. To cite an example, the president of the NPF women wing had to apologise publicly with regard to a press statement by the organisation she led. In the apology it was clearly evident that it was not her who wrote the statement.
However the real concern is not only the use of such languages by the ruling party but what is much worst is when such statements are sent through the same email of the chief minister’s office. The email of the chief minister’s office may not be the official email address since its server is in the public domain but it is the only email that the CM’s office uses to send out statements to the media. Emails that have words with communal (tribalistic) connotations, personal attacks, character assassinations et al. were all received from the email of the office of the chief minister and all in the name of some organisations in the ruling party.
A new chief minister who also happens to be the president of the NPF party will take office but even in such cases the party has to be separated from the office of the chief minister. The chief minister’s residence and secretariat should not be made the party headquarters. The chief minister is not only for the ruling party and the ruling alliance but for all the citizens of the state. The respect being accorded to the highest office of the state has to be well protected and maintained. Even from the chief minister’s office!
