Reservation Row: Nagaland government given 15 days deadline to form commission

• CoRRP suspends agitation till June 15

Y Patton (EM Images)

• KOHIMA — The Nagaland state government has been given a two-week period to deliberate on the formation of an independent commission to examine the reservation policy, following a meeting with the Five Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP) and apex tribal bodies at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat on Tuesday.
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• The CoRRP has agreed to suspend its agitation during this period.
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• The meeting, held at the Chief Secretary’s Conference Hall, was chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton and attended by other cabinet ministers including G Kaito Aye, Metsubo Jamir, Salhoutuonuo Kruse, and Temjen Imna Along, as well as senior state government officials. Representatives from the Ao, Sumi, Angami, Lotha, and Rengma tribes, who make up the Five Tribes Committee, were also present.

Related: Reservation Row: 5 tribes launch multi-district protests in Nagaland

• Speaking to the media after the meeting, Patton said that the discussion focused on the reservation quota system. The CoRRP and tribal bodies have urged the state government to take a decision and either to scrap the backward tribe (BT) quota or to allocate the remaining unreserved quota to the five tribes.

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• After extensive discussion, the state government appealed for more time, he said.
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• Patton informed that the CoRRP insisted the matter should be examined by a commission, not a committee, and the government has been given until June 17 for the state cabinet to deliberate and decide on the matter.
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• Thanking the tribal bodies for deciding to suspend their agitation, Patton added that the cabinet meeting will be convened by the Chief Minister, following which, the cabinet decision will be shared with the CoRRP in a subsequent meeting.
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• CoRRP Convenor, Tesinlo Semy, also addressed the media, describing it as “fruitful.” He said the government has agreed to set up a commission which will be tasked with examining the core demands of the five tribes. It will then submit its recommendations to the government, after which the cabinet will take a decision.
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• He added that the committee would hold another meeting with the government after the 15-day period and that, in the meantime, all protest activities have been put on hold.
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• Meanwhile, the CoRRP also released a statement reiterating the new developments. “As requested by the Deputy CM and his four other cabinet colleagues, the second phase of agitation will be kept in abeyance till June 17 with a hope that the state cabinet will take a well-informed decision and honour the assurances given today,” it stated.