Dimapur, November 15 : The ruling NPF has hit back at NPCC working president Ayang Aonok who severely critised the DAN government under Chief Minister TR Zeliang in a statement which appeared in local dailies on Tuesday.
NPF media & press bureau, in a release, today made point-by-point response to the NPCC statement and said the working president of a dysfunctional party has talked about corruption of the DAN government and sought the companionship of the Governor in the exercise. “It is something like a hapless drowning man trying to grip a tiny twig against the torrential currents of mighty river,” the NPF quipped.
Stating that it was constrained to issue this rejoinder for the consumption of the readers, the NPF ridiculed that the NPCC statement, saying perhaps, “the last vestige of the outcast party in Nagaland called the Indian National Congress (INC) has shown its last flickers in public before going completely extinct on the eve of the forthcoming Assembly polls in the State”.
The ruling party said the citizens of Nagaland are not that foolish as the NPCC thinks and added that they cannot be carried away by such “cheap propaganda” unleashed by the Congress Party.
Maintaining that the Congress got the terrible beating at the hands of the Naga masses three times in the Assembly elections, the NPF said this time, Chief Minister TR Zeliang performed the feat of pulling out Nagaland as the first “Congress Mukth” State in the North East.
Stating that the Council of Ministers is accountable to the House, it said “and in the House, there is not one Congress MLA to call the Government to account through the media”.
“Congress has no moral right to call the Government through media. It is a shame that the national party, infamous for its 2G, 3G, CWG, Coal gate, helicopter scandal, just to name a few, which has been wiped out both by the people and in the House to almost extinction in Nagaland, is trying to repair itself through a media war,” the NPF rued.
It also informed the public that learning about the poor condition of the highways from Tizit to Mon, a Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs who recently visited Eastern Nagaland promptly requested Delhi to take appropriate administrative and financial actions for repairing the road. “He was a very responsible officer from the Centre and knew very well that the poor condition of the highways is attributable only to the Centre and not to the State. The Joint Secretary from the Centre deserves utmost gratitude of the Nagas, of at all he takes up the issue with the Centre,” according to the NPF.
Also, informing that the government has already decided to release the payment of SSA teachers by the end of November and that it will not go back from its words, the NPF sought to explain that the teachers employed under SSA, in fact, are to be paid under the centrally-sponsored scheme and not from the State exchequer and therefore unless the State Government receives funds from the Central Government, it cannot release the salary of the SSA employees. As a matter of fact, the party said, the NPCC should not blame the government blindly, stating that the same rules apply irrespective of which party runs the government.
Explaining that the Nagaland Assembly is the “forum of constitutionally-enabled free expression”, it warned that any statement by anyone that voice of the MLAs is being throttled on the floor of the House would invite serious action under parliamentary privileges. “If there is unanimity of views and there is absence of opposition to Government, it cannot be termed as despotic. In that case, all consensual acts, in a democracy, will, by NPCC’s definition, become despotic decisions,” the party added.
On the ratification of GST Bill by Nagaland, the NPF maintained that it has no nexus to article 371A (1)(a) of the Constitution of India, adding the fact of J&K having a separate Constitution is incomparable to Nagaland’s position under article 371A (1)(a). It also said the GST is not an issue coverable by any of the four legislative fields enumerated in article 371A. “Even if that be so, the Congress failed to red-flag this issue on the eve of the Assembly session called for GST ratification. The Congress that was in slumber and hibernation all along is now trying to keep itself in the limelight by making outrageous statements and demands,” it stated.
Clarifying that it was the unanimous decision of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly to amend the Nagaland Municipal Act in 2006 to provide reservation for women, the NPF said however, due to opposition from the tribal bodies, municipal elections with 33% reservation for women could not be held till now. “But with the change of times and situations, the State Cabinet felt that it is time now to go ahead with women reservation and conduct the polls in accordance with the provisions of our own State Act.
On the CM’s qualification issue, the NPF stated that the case was heard by the Peren JMFC who dismissed the case on ground of limitation and added that “the matter is in appeal before the High Court which was heard and the judgment is reserved”.
When the matter is sub juice, it is always advisable not to discuss merits in the media, it said. The party further said the Manipur MLA’s case decided by the Supreme Court of India recently has no application to the present Chief Minister, since what was decided by the apex court was an election petition and what was decided by the Peren JMRC in the Chief Minister’s case was not an election petition but a complaint under Section 125A etc. of the Representation of the People Act. “In regard to qualification issue of the then Chief Minister, currently, it is not very relevant to discuss the same as it does not serve any public interest,” according to the party .
“Whoever is affected by any feature of mal governance has to come forward and provide tangible and verifiable evidence so that issues are taken up and resolved,” the NPF said.
“NPCC cannot hurl wild allegations in the dark and try to garner public sympathy. It will have to be through a process of evidence, trial and tangible results so that public interests are promoted and precious time of the Party and the Government is not wasted in communiqués like this,” it added.
