Indigenous rights, not MRP, behind action — Dimapur Naga Students' Union clarifies

DIMAPUR — The Dimapur Naga Students' Union (DNSU) on Monday clarified that its recent action against a business establishment was not related to maximum retail price (MRP) violations, but stemmed from concerns over alleged misuse of Non-Naga Indigenous Certificates and issues affecting indigenous Naga rights.

In a rejoinder issued amid criticism from several organisations, the union alleged that the matter was being deliberately misrepresented as a pricing-related dispute in an attempt to divert public attention from what it described as a "serious issue" concerning indigenous safeguards.

The DNSU stated that certain organisations had issued "unwarranted and ill-informed" statements without fully understanding the matter and accused them of misleading the public by portraying the incident as a dispute over MRP violations.

According to the union, the core concern relates to alleged cases of non-tribal individuals procuring land without indigenous certification and engaging in activities that could adversely affect the rights and protections of indigenous Nagas.

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The DNSU maintained that all its actions are guided by the interests, welfare and security of the Naga people and asserted that it functions under the mandate of various tribal student bodies in Dimapur.

At the same time, the union questioned whether the sale of properly packaged products without MRP declarations and alleged arbitrary pricing and GST practices should also not be scrutinised, although it maintained that such concerns were secondary in the present matter.

The union further criticised organisations that condemned what they termed "unilateral actions" by DNSU while allegedly remaining silent on unethical business practices affecting consumers and local residents.