Dimapur, March 11 (EMN): The Janata Dal United (JD-U) Nagaland unit on Wednesday said that the decision of the Central government to constitute a Delimitation Commission for the states of Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur as well as the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir “is very much justified”.
The party issued a press release close on the heels of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party’s (NDPP) statement that delimitation exercise might not be conducive for the state due to the Naga political talks that is said to have reached an advanced stage and at a time when people are awaiting a possible inking of the final settlement.
It stated that delimitation is not done only in a few states, including Nagaland while the rest of the country has already completed the process in 2008. “Nothing can be indefinite and therefore, all things are bound to be given logical conclusion,” the press release from the JD(U) read.
Reacting to NDPP’s claim that Nagaland was exempted from the purview of the Delimitation Commission in the past because of the ongoing political talks on the Naga issue, it asked whether there was “any special notification by the Government of India to this claim”. It asked why the party was not organising a “rally or dharna in Delhi to expedite the issue” if they are so concerned about the ongoing political talks instead of using it “as a bait to fulfil their vested political interest”.
‘If the NDPP is so concerned about the ongoing political talks, why can't they step down as a solemn sacrifice or the frustrating delay in the ongoing talks? Moreover, what is the guarantee that they will step down after the peace talk is concluded when the NDPP is not able to exhibit any practical action to walk the talk while in power?’ asked the party.
The JD(U) Nagaland state unit said that the NDPP could have convened an all-party meeting to discuss the matter instead of reacting to the announcement of the delimitation process. It also suggested that an urgent all-party meeting is called “to ponder on the frustrating delay of the ongoing peace talk” and organise a democratic agitation in Delhi before meeting the prime minister and serve an ultimatum on the issue.