Dimapur, Aug. 13 (EMN): The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has suggested that the Naga Hoho and the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) had denounced the reported statement of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, based on hearsay and assumptions, without establishing the context in which the statement was delivered.
On August 11, the two apex organisations had issued a joint statement alleging that the chief minister had sought to denounce the existence of Naga Hoho and NMA during a meeting of Joint Legislature Forum and Ex-Parliamentarians on August 7 in Kohima.
In response, the NDPP issued a press release on Tuesday stating that the August 7 meeting was a closed-door affair. “The deliberations resulted in the adoption of resolutions which were made public through the local media.
“It is therefore unfortunate that the details of the discussions have been revealed to the public thus disregarding the trust and confidence reposed by the members present at the meeting on one another. It is also worrying that if such precedence is created then in the future the members may hesitate to speak freely with the doubt that such would be leaked out beyond the confines of the room,” it stated.
During the meeting, the chief minister had brought to attention the urgent need for unity, especially among the apex bodies representing the people like the Naga Hoho and the NMA, it stated.
It is a fact that at present some tribal hohos and organisations have disassociated from the NMA and the NH due to various reasons, therefore, the chief minister and the PDA government had urged upon the Naga civil society organisations to look beyond past the differences and come together under the spirit of unity and oneness.
“However, the statement of the NH and the NMA seems to have missed the context in which the chief minister had made mention of the two organisations and rightly so too since neither the NH nor the NMA were present in the meeting where this issue was deliberated.
“It is most unfortunate that the two organisations have come in condemnation of the chief minister solely basing their statement on hearsay and on the words of the people who have conveyed this to them. It was perhaps with ill intention that the person or persons who have misled the two organisations into believing that the chief minister has no regard for them (NH & NMA),” read the statement.
As such, the party felt, it would have been more prudent if the members of the two organisations had met with the chief minister and discussed their concerns instead of issuing a press statement without ascertaining the context in which those statements were made.
“It has always been the intention of the chief minister to bring about oneness and unity among all Nagas and has been his clarion call that all Naga organisations should come under one banner. It is his belief that we can overcome all challenges and hurdles towards our quest for genuine peace through an honourable political solution and that we strengthen the peace process through our unity.
“It is also the call of the chief minister and the PDA government that, in the greater interest of the Nagas and the future generations, an olive branch should be extended by these two apex bodies to the other tribal organisations in order to bring them back into their fold and rebuild the NH and the NMA to the stature it once held in the society.
"We believe that the respected leaders of the two organisations, all of whom are meant to carry the mandate of their respective tribal hohos, will take this statement and the reiteration of our appeal for unity in a positive manner,” read the statement from the party.
The NDPP further reasoned that it would bode well for Naga society in future if, the apex organisations representing the people, would take on a more responsible and mature approach and meet across the table instead of issuing statements based on hearsay and assumptions.
“However, it is the appeal of the NDPP to all apex tribal organisations and their leaders including the NH and the NMA, who represent each and every one of us to take up our appeal for unity in the right spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood in the greater interest of the society,” it stated.
