Dimapur, October 16 : The bandh called by a community platform in Nagaland from October 17 is not for any other reason except for the Nagaland government failing to bring in the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) to investigate the fuel adulteration racket.
This message was conveyed by the community organization, the Co-ordination Committee on Fuel Adulteration (CCoFA), on Sunday, notwithstanding the claims of progress in the investigations by local law enforcement agencies.
The platform said that the racket did not just involve merely the ‘five kingpins’ but government officials and politicians themselves for which the state agencies were not trusted to bring prosecution to its logical conclusion.
“The indefinite highway bandh called by the CCoFA on 17th October has nothing to do with the SIT (Special Investigation Team) or the charge sheet to be filed by it, as supposed by the cabinet. The bandh has been called because the government failed to call in a CBI enquiry within the 15 days deadline,” the committee stated in a press release to the media on October 16.
In fact, the organisation stated, it was not “bothered” by what the SIT was engaged in.
“The CCoFA is not bothered whether the SIT is filing its charge sheet within 3 days, or 10 days or after 1 month,” the organisation remarked.
“The point which the CCoFA wants to convey to the general public is that the SIT cannot satisfactorily bring the case to its logical conclusion because the fuel adulteration issue is not merely confined to the 5 kingpins. This racket involves virtually the whole of the Food & Civil Supplies department and the politicians.”
For instance, the organization stated, the “Naga public are not fools to believe that the SIT will dare charge-sheet the portfolio in charges of F&CS department in the last 15-20 years, if indeed they are found culpable.”
To begin with, the press release explained, the SIT “was formed with its hands tied behind” and its integrity “already compromised.” This was the very reason why the ACAUT had previously rejected the SIT when it was first announced, the CCoFA reminded.
“Thus, the government is requested not to mislead the public.” The CCoFA has appealed to the Naga public to stand in solidarity and to prayer for the event.
“The CCoFA is also of the view that a CBI investigation should also culminate into complete overhauling or cleansing of the most corrupted F&CS department which automatically will benefit lakhs of Naga families living from hand to mouth,” the community organisation stated.
The organization has in the outright condemned the “confrontational attitude of the state government when instead it should be assisting it.”
The agitation is a moral battle between the vast majority of helpless citizens on one side and the insensitive government on the other side,’ the CCoFA stated.
“...and indeed the repercussions will be serious. By adopting a confrontational attitude, the government has by default declared that it supports the kingpins, Dinanath, Srikanth, Umesh, Naval and Ajay Prasad and will continue to support corruption.”
Yet again, the organisation reminded, if any untoward incident should take place, the government will be held solely responsible.
“It is with a deep sense of gratitude that the CCOFA also announces that apart from NFC Gate, Dillai and Chumoukedima Check Gate, bandh along the entire stretch of Highway-29 will be manned by youth volunteers of Zubza, Peducha and Medziphema in their respective jurisdictions,”
The law enforcing agencies on their part, it added, “should have nothing to worry about” because the agitation will be peaceful and non-violent. This is a constitutional right of the people “in the event the government resort unlawful and arbitrary means to sabotage the protest by means of arresting then the public resort to ‘jail Bharao’ in tune with Gandhian philosophy,” it added.
