Nagaland: NDPP hits back at opposition parties

Says government of the day is more in touch with ground realities than ever

Dimapur, July 8 (EMN): The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) on Wednesday hit back at the opposition parties --Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF) and Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC)-- stating that its rejoinders only ‘proves their frustration at having to sit it out in the opposition bench after 15 years of ruling the state for the former; and for not having a single elected representative in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly despite being India’s “grand old party” for the latter.’

“It will only be in the fitness of things if one sheds one’s political affiliations and prejudices for a moment and assess the prevailing scenario in the state from a neutral, unbiased and judicious aspect rather than from a jaundiced angle,” read the statement from the NDPP.

The NDPP said the law and order situation in Nagaland today is ‘much better’ than what it 20 years back; the people are ‘much more erudite and wise to the ways of the world’ than what their preceding generation was; ‘the yearning for peace and normalcy and rule of law in the society is felt as acutely today as their parents felt when Nagaland was in the throes of factional killings and violence a decade or two back.’

Claiming that the government of the day is more in touch with ground realities than ever and is also more ‘people-centric’ in its attitude and performance, the NDPP said: “Therefore, when the NPCC terms the present law and order situation as “difficult”, one dreads to imagine what vocabulary and choice of words the party would use to define how the law and order situation was when it was at the helm of affairs in the ‘90s till the early 2000’s in Nagaland! The people are the best judge as to whose hypocrisy compounded with acute amnesia stands exposed today.”

Accusing that the NPF have once again tried to malign the cordial relationship between the PDA government and the governor through their statement, it stated that the PDA, as a matured and responsible government is not gullible to fall for another ‘childish attempt’ of the NPF by distorting facts.

It reminded the opposition parties that there is no law that debars a governor from writing to the state government expressing his or her views and opinions and for the government to respond accordingly. This in no way can be construed that the relationship between the two have soured or that the governor has lost trust on the government of the day, it added.

“The PDA has also never claimed to be the champions in matters relating to the ongoing Naga political issue. We have rather been active proponents of an early settlement that is honourable and acceptable to the people and will continue to support any positive steps taken to this effect. The members of the PDA are not starving for publicity, unlike the opposition NPF who craves to grab publicity for everything under the sun. The leaders of the PDA have done and are continuing to do their part on this issue,” it read.

NDPP said the usage of the “headless” chicken analogy in dealing with the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic in the state is ‘cheap, uncalled for and an insult’ to the frontline workers and all sections of the society who have been rendering services above and beyond the call of duty to contain the disease as best as they can.

“Everyone is suffering in this period of lockdown, but some are performing their duties without rest or sleep all these months to contain the disease to make the lives of our thousands of returnees as comfortable as possible. It is therefore ridiculously unfair to sit in the comfort of one’s home and pass on unsubstantiated judgments condemning the efforts of these frontline workers by pointing at one or two of their mistakes while ignoring the countless acts that need to be praised or highlighted. We must remember that we have to live with the dreaded virus; and the services of these frontline workers and cooperation of all sections of the society would be more crucial in the coming weeks and months if we are to live with the disease without succumbing to it.

“The Congress allegation that the NDPP and BJP betrayed the people of Nagaland in 2018 by filing nominations despite calls of “Solution before Elections” is amusing because the Congress has a history of its own which does not need reminding. Moreover, in 2018, several other political parties participated whole-heartedly in the poll process including the new-found ally of the Congress, the NPF as well as the Congress themselves! Failure of the Congress to mention NPF as a participant in the 2018 elections is conspicuously suspicious and once again confirms the NPF - Congress alliance. The verdict of the people of Nagaland in 2018 was clearly in favour of the PDA, and accordingly, the present government was formed. To call for stepping down or dismissal of the legally-mandated Government at this juncture, as desired by the NPF and the Congress, would be unconstitutional, illegal and ultra vires,” it read.

It went on to say that the opposition alliance seemed to only have one agenda that is, for the government to step down. “They have no roadmap towards guiding the people of the state out of this pandemic except to take advantage of the situation by continuously attacking the government of the day with baseless and malicious statements. While it is important to have a strong opposition for a healthy democracy to function, it is uncalled for when the opposition decides to behave in an irrational and irresponsible manner as is the unfortunate case in Nagaland today,” it read.

 The NDPP called upon the people including the opposition parties to come forward and together help the state to recover from the Covid-19 both physically and economically.

“Let us collectively work towards rehabilitating our returnees and take advantage to take over from what is left. By building a healthy society that is economically self sufficient that we will be giving our future the chance to shine at par with the rest of the world,” it added.