Dimapur, March 31 (EMN): Responding to the charges of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) wherein it accused the NPF president Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu of becoming the chief minister by ‘default,’ Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) today hit back at the Congress party of suffering from selective amnesia syndrome when it comes to its own history.
In its justification, CMO said Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu became the chief minister because of Constitutional provisions and Parliamentary procedures and not through backdoor or front door, as alleged by the Congress party.
It pointed out that no one ever considered Dr. Manmohan Singh becoming the Union Finance minister of the country in 1991 through backdoor when he had to be hurriedly elected from Assam as a Rajya Sabha member, and that too, when he did not have a residence in Assam for several months after being elected from the State, adding the legal lacuna was furtively rectified without raising any flutter in the political arena.
It also recounted the case of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao without being a member of either House of Parliament and had to contest in a by-election from Nandyal constituency in Andhra Pradesh.
It accused the Congress party of suffering from selective amnesia syndrome when it comes to its own history, or the heinous acts committed during its regimes such as the Anti-Sikh Riots of 1984, where its leaders acted more fanatical than communal elements it avers to, or the darkest era the nation went through during the Emergency declared by the Congress government at the Centre in 1975.
It said Congress party has been made redundant in today’s context by “their fault” and by no fault of anyone else when all its legislators and senior leaders parted ways with it leaving a few rejects to man the organisation.
As for the allegation that Dr. Shurhozelie “ditched” his party in 1999 to contest the parliamentary elections, the statement said it clearly shows the selective amnesia of the Congress party.
“Human memory is short, it is said, but not as short as to forget the treachery on the Naga people by the Congress party which did not heed the call of the people to solve the Naga political problem and not to hold or participate general elections in 1998, which was obeyed by all other political parties in Nagaland except the Congress which went ahead to file nomination papers in most of the Constituencies and were declared uncontested,” CMO said in a press release. It said the Congress party, with the support of Independents, formed that Government with 59 on the Treasury Bench with only one Independent as the sole Opposition member.
It also pointed out that as a result of not participating in the 1998 elections for the sake of the Naga peace process, the Election Commission of India “froze” the party symbol of the NPF (then NPC). It added that to salvage the regional party and regain its party symbol, Dr. Shurhozelie made the supreme sacrifice of contesting as an Independent candidate against the ruling Congress candidate despite knowing very well that the chances of winning were very slim. For records, it said Dr. Shurhozelie secured 1, 62, 521 votes and could redeem the party symbol, CMO said.
Stating that the treachery perpetrated by the Congress party in 1998 remains fresh in the minds of the Naga people, it felt that Naga political problem might have been given more importance by the Government of India only if the Congress had paid heed to the clarion call of the Naga people then, adding perhaps the Congress party might not have been pushed to the political oblivion it is in now, especially here in Nagaland.
