NPF puts weight behind governor

Dimapur, July 5 (EMN): Throwing its weight behind the governor’s letter to the chief minister, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) has pointed out the failure of the present government, stating that as the constitutional head of the state, the governor has the responsibility to execute power vested on him.

The party, in a statement issued by its president Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu, stated that the governor has the responsibilities to exercise directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution.

Liezietsu stated that the governor wrote the letter for the sake of the suffering public and not for his own gain or interest.

Liezietsu stated that the governor’s letter to the chief minister of Nagaland, which appeared in local dailies dated June 26, should not be a surprise to the people of Nagaland. He added that it should not be a surprise to the chief minister either because the governor had urged the chief minister to take some action to contain law and order situation as early as August 23, 2019.

“The state government was reminded again with the gravity of the situation on November 14, 2019. But nothing has been done. Therefore, the governor has regretted to say that his urging and advices have gone unheeded,” Liezietsu stated.

Liezietsu recounted an instance in which the NPF secretary general, Achumbemo Kikon, while participating in the North East TV debate on June 30, had made the party’s views clear that the chief minister should step down on moral ground with the collapse of law and order in the state as declared by the governor.

“We will go one more step further that this government has failed on all fronts including management and the economy of the state. It may not be necessary for us to go into detail at the moment. But we will be prepared point by point if we are invited to do so,” Liezietsu stated.

He referred to the statement made by concerned citizens of Nagaland particularly the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in their statement dated June 23 which had accused some Naga political group and their elements of forceful imposition and collecting taxes from shops and business establishments. Besides, Liezietsu has also mentioned statements issued by Tutomi Gham Kughakulu Dimapur (TGKD) and PAC under Naga Council Dimapur pertaining to unlawful act of threat and intimidation.

Terming Dimapur as the commercial hub of Nagaland, he stated that price rise would subsequently affect every town in Nagaland.

“But if any one claims that collection of tax is legal, I will not go further with single track minded argument. But taxes also may have different categories, one cannot just blindly say that all taxes are legal. How many sovereignty Naga people aimed at? People support Acaut when they advocate ‘One Govt., one tax,’” Liezietsu added.

He also stated that extortion has nothing to do with Naga political problem saying, ‘Extortion is purely a law and order subject.’ In this regard, he has urged the public to differentiate properly on what is right and wrong.

While lashing out some organisations on their attack on the governor for using the word ‘armed gang,’ he questioned ‘why we ourselves are trying to interpret the phrase to let out national workers own it. Or why some underground groups come out to own that phrase by themselves?’

“Let us not mix up the Naga political problem and the failures of the present PDA government in Nagaland,” Liezietsu stated.

On the whole, Liezietsu stated that the governor wrote the letter for the sake of the suffering public and not for his own gain or interest.