NSCN-IM leaders to meet Modi before formal talks

Newmai News Network DELHI/DIMAPUR, September 29 The NSCN-IM team which is currently camping in Delhi will first meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 'formal dialogue' begins, according to a well placed source from the outfit. "Meeting and holding formal dialogue are two different things," said the NSCN-IM source. The source confided to Newmai News Network that the NSCN-IM team had already held talks with New Delhi's interlocutor RN Ravi on September 22. The delegation found RN Ravi 'fine' contrary to what they had perceived earlier. The Naga Hoho and other Naga frontal organisations had earlier opposed RN Ravi's appointment as the Interlocutor. When queried about the meeting with Modi, the NSCN-IM source said it will be fixed only after the Prime Minister returns to the country. "But since it was from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that the invitation came, I don't think it will take long," stated the NSCN-IM source. The source also said this time the NSCN-IM feels optimistic that something 'good' may come out of the talks. The BJP-led NDA government had already said the Indo-Naga political issue will be resolved in a time-bound manner. This stand of the NDA government was echoed yesterday by Chief Minister TR Zeliang in Kohima when a news agency interviewed him. "Given this scenario, every meeting or dialogue with the NDA government is going to be very crucial and heart-pounding," stated the source. The 10-member team of the NSCN-IM had left Dimapur on September 20 for New Delhi on the invitation of the government of India. NSCN-IM chairman Isak Chisi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah led the team. The delegation will prepare for the formal talks with the government of India in the national capital for about a week before the formal talks begin. The precise dates scheduled for the talks have not been revealed by the sources. With the return of the NDA at the Centre, the Naga civil society organisations and the NSCN-IM are upbeat, and there have been expressions of optimism that something good for the Nagas is coming.