MLAs failing to meet deadline will be barred from entering respective jurisdictions in next election
Dimapur, Feb. 14: In a new twist to the tussle between chief minister TR Zeliang and apex Naga tribe bodies led by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC), the two organisations have given till February 17 next for all elected legislators to withdraw their support to the embattled chief minister.
According to a JCC press release, a joint meeting between the JCC and the NTAC on Tuesday resolved that all the apex tribe bodies should call their respective legislators to withdraw their support their support Zeliang on or before February 17 next.
It was resolved that those legislators failing to meet the deadline would be “debarred” by the tribe bodies from entering their respective jurisdictions during the next elections.
The JCC and the NTAC have also warned the state government as well as the governor that ‘despite the utmost effort to restrain’ them, the volunteers were losing patience and in the event of any eventuality the government and the governor would be held responsible.
In Dimapur, the JCC has also revised the duration of the bandh as from 9 am to 4 pm, while reiterating that no government vehicles except for police would be allowed to travel.
“JCC resolved that vehicles on exam duty will be strictly restricted to those with students onboard only. The vehicles ferrying will not be allowed to return without the student, hence all drivers are requested to bear with the inconvenience by waiting at the school premises. Further no government vehicles will be allowed to ferry students,” it informed.
The JCC has also directed telecom operators to immediately restore data and internet services “or face consequences.” While informing of a joint meeting between the JCC and the DUCCF at Chakhesang community hall at 1 pm on Wednesday, it has announced that the request of Nagaland GB federation to hold consultative meeting in Dimapur has been denied due to the volatile situation prevailing in the state.
“JCC resolved that the volunteers are restricted from moving around from their designated location in order to avoid confusion. However only JCC media cell personals (sic) and their vehicle are allowed to move,” it stated.
‘CM’s radio talk, another trickery’
In a separate press release, the JCC has stated that the chief minister’s claim during his radio address that he went ahead with the ULB elections after holding 14 consultative meetings was ‘another trickery to hoodwink the public.’
“The fact of the matter is after 14 times futile consultations meeting (sic) and unable to arrive at a consensus the government decided to go ahead with the ULB elections without consent of the people. The chief minister’s radio address to the Naga public was a hollow rhetoric and cheap imitation of prime minister’s maan ka chaarcha”, it stated.
It has also asked Lok Sabha member, Neiphio Rio not to ‘act so clean and try portray himself as a saviour’. According to the JCC: “Nagas are not a fool to not see through this mischievous deed of his to gain political mileage out of the current ULB imbroglio, rather he is reminded that in 2001 it was he who enacted the present Nagaland Municipal Act.”
It has also condemned Rio’s “appraisal” to RN Ravi and Ajit Doval that the agitation by NTAC and JCC would hamper the Indo-Naga peace talk. Terming it as insidious and lacking concern for the Naga public, the JCC stated that the people’s protest against the chief minister TR Zeliang has nothing to do with the Indo-Naga peace talks.
Also, to the suggestion by the Zeliangrong People’s Organization (ZPO) that the current protest by the people of Nagaland was because the chief minister hails from a backward tribe, the JCC termed it as simply immature. “ZPO is reminded that the chief minister is not a Zeliangrong chief minister but a minister for all Nagas and he is answerable to all Nagas. ZPO is advised to refrain from indulging in “ism” politics.”
Reiterating that it will intensify the agitation till chief minister TR Zeliang steps down on moral grounds, the JCC informed the governor that the situation was spiralling out of control with passage of time. His failure to act on it will result in ‘serious catastrophe’ for which the governor and the chief minister will be held solely responsible, the JCC warned.
