The attention of the Press Bureau, NPF Central Office, has been drawn to an article attributed to some unknown persons and published in a section of the local media Saturday under the caption “The NPF Party Should Realise and Accept Where the Mandate of the People Rests” in which the suspended Lok Sabha MP Shri Neiphiu Rio has been equated to a demi-God simply by the sole reason that a few thousands of people gathered at the Airport last month in the garb of Public Reception.
The authors claimed that they have not even seen the cover page of the NPF Constitution but went on to ridicule the disciplinary action of the Party as worse than the activities of the Nazi. The authors are at liberty to expose their crass ignorance to the erudite readers (which they have blissfully done much to the amusement of the discerning mass) but to claim that their allegiance has always been with the regional party in that same sentence is something absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.
Also, if a few thousands of people lured with benefits and a handful of die-hard supporters received a person at the airport, could raise that person to the pedestal of a deity or a demi-god, the very concept of spirituality is brought to question. Now, in a Christian society such as ours, such a development, even though propounded by a few unidentified scribblers who hide behind the façade of some tribal names, is not a healthy development which should be condemned by all since it is an insult and challenge to the Almighty. Are we so gullible as to idolise a person as the deity if and when a few thousands gather to listen to him? Is our faith and belief that shallow and inconsequential as to be swayed by thirty coins?
The authors of the article also commented that in the beginning of the present century, the Cock party did not have a face or even a roof beneath which to hold executive meetings, and that the leaders were then “horizontal shadows whose expertise lay in the narration of history.” The imagery they have sketched is a telling reflection on how materialistic their mentality is! For their information, it is not the mud floor or a marbled floor a person lives in that makes him or her; it is the personality of the person that makes the person who he or she is. Likewise, a thatched roof, a tinned roof, a tiled roof or an open air as the roof is immaterial to a person or a political party as long as integrity of the person or party is intact, vibrant and unquestioned by the people. After all, it is not the make-up or the dress of a person that makes the person who he or she is. And it will be a sad day for humanity if all people start to think on the lines of the authors of the said article. Again, if narration of history or possession of a history is something to be ashamed of; and if anyone points it out like the authors have done, we can only assume that the authors either did not have a paternal parent, or had too many that they are ashamed of their own ancestry to date! It could be because of this paternal history of the authors that made them unabashedly declare that they “are irked by the big boys [of the NPF] basking in the sun” today!
The authors should also sleep easy since the NPF party has no intention of dismantling itself from within or without, as they feared, and it will continue to be the torch bearer of the hopes and aspirations of the Naga people as it had done in the past. They should also rest assured that the NPF has always, is still and will continue to facilitate the final solution to the Naga political problem which is honourable and acceptable to all. And if they see the lone Lok Sabha MP as the “masked” and “notorious Badmash” of Hindi Movies, it is their individual perception and one can only say that they have more than fertile imaginations since the suspended MP has never been projected as such by the NPF and the party has no intention whatsoever, to do so.
The article loudly states that the doctrine of fairness was defeated when the former Chief Minister wanted status quo of the ministry to be maintained after he vacated the chair of the Chief Minister. It is a democratic fact that it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister to decide who he takes on his ministerial board. And it comes as a surprise to learn that the former Chief Minister wanted to maintain status quo in the ministry after he left the State. However, this is most improbable since the former Chief Minister, a seasoned politician, might not harbour such a juvenile notion of ruling the State by proxy while he remains there in the Parliament.
This is to point out to one and all that the NPF party is well aware of the mandate the people have given it: To provide a stable government so as to bring about all-round development to the State, and also to facilitate an early solution to the protracted Naga political issue. Therefore, stability to the party leadership and the NPF-led DAN Government under the leadership of Chief Minister TR Zeliang shall be ensured and all necessary steps are being taken to ensure this stability. Also, all attempts are being made by the NPF-led DAN Government to bring all sections of the Naga people together to present a single voice before the Government of India so that a permanent, honourable solution to the Naga political problem is brought about at the earliest. Towards this end, legislators belonging to various political parties who fought tooth and nail in the last elections have been brought together to form an Opposition-less Government as a first attempt, and this is no mean achievement since it has been hailed at International forums as a first of its kind in the Democratic world.
Before elucidating on where the mandate of the people lies, these self-professed “political science students” should understand where exactly the people’s mandate rests: Whether the mandate lies with the 60 elected members or with the defeated candidate like Thenucho, Imkong L. Imchen (suspended member) and Thomas Ngullie, the lone member out of the 8 Independent MLAs, who spoke in the so-called public reception on 24th May, 2016 at the Airport. The authors should know the meaning of the very word “mandate” under the norms of Democratic process.
