Staff Reporter
Dimpaur July 13 (EMN): In what could be seen as a political masterstroke or just an obligation due to the deepening crises within the NPF party a supposed revocation letter of the suspensions of the 10 MLAs from the party on July 8 and also of the sitting Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio who was suspended in May 2016, has surfaced in social media on Thursday.
This new development based on reconciliation within the party is not a card unknown to the dissidents as the NPF party under its President Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu had used it before and some of the elected members have already tasted it, unpleasant to some.
The crises in 2015 came to an end when dissidents finally gave in for the sake of reconciliation as requested by many organisations but many of the dissidents alleged that there was no real reconciliation in letter and in spirit.
Even during the crises, many of the dissidents voiced out for true reconciliation in the party to resolve the matter.
Instead, after the crises the party started to induct the Congress MLAs into the cabinet even before the merger that took place later while many of the MLAs who were prominent in the party earlier seemed sidelined.
However the continued crises in the party since 2014 has brought to light the many inner workings of the once formidable regional party, with the continued mudslinging between friends turned foes being a constant feature in the media.
The power struggle within the party or the intent for the same might have been there from before, since the party came to power in 2003 but it started to show only when former chief minister Niephiu Rio decided to contest for the lone Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and had given his blessings to the veteran regionalist Noke Wangnao.
It was only later in 2015 that the Noke-Kaito group that the party president indulged in signature campaign to form a consensus for TR Zeliang and it was a more of a move to reduce Rio's influence in the state politics.
Moreover since the council of ministers are appointed on the pleasure of the chief minister there were only many, who were either second or third rung in Rio's ministry, ready to work out an alternative away from the influence of their former leader.
This led to the first Kaziranga camp that had majority of the NPF MLAs along with the independents and other parties who camped in the resort in support of TR Zeliang that is more akin to merging or defecting to another party, a trend that continues till the present crises.
The next issue cropped up when the 3 former NCP MLAs merged with the BJP but the Speaker of the ruling DAN alliance found it worthy to disqualify them based on the anti-defection law.
This was one of the most shocking moves of the then government who disqualified members of its own alliance, the BJP.
Neiphiu Rio made a scathing attack on this move later during a public reception at Dimapur airport after his suspension, that it damaged the party's image in the eyes of the ruling NDA.
It may also be mentioned that in spite of a clear reply given by Neiphiu Rio to the show cause notice given he was given a second show cause notice with a gap of just 9 days and albeit his reply he was ultimately suspended by the Disciplinary Action Committee.
This was followed later by Imkong L imchen who was also suspended from the party.
However in the present case the suspension order was given by the working presidents and not the DAC. There are many murmurs within the party that such orders actually come directly from the party president himself.
It is also widely accepted that the NPF party president enjoys good support in the party organisation and so an amendment was affected in the tenure of the party president from 3 years to 5 years in the General Conference that was held in November 2014.
Shurhozelie's tenure came to an end that year but he was again re-elected for another term of 5 years as per the amended constitution of the party.
To add more twist to the current unfolding of the internal workings of the NPF party, a letter supposedly written by the Party President and sitting Chief Minister to Amit Shah has surfaced in social media recently.
In the letter dated 6/4/2017 Shurhozelie has recommended the Secretary General of the party and current Rajya Sabha MP KG Kenye to be accommodated into the NDA government.
He stated, "It will truly instil a true sense of belongingness in the Nagas with the mainstrearn. To this end I would like to request you to kindly consider inducting Shri K G Kenye in the NDA Government in a suitable position."
This has also brought to light the long speculated axis of power and the tussle for power within the NPF that had actually persuaded the party president to favour a comparatively new face for induction into the Union cabinet instead of his former chief minister, a long time partner in building the party.
There are also reports from reliable sources that KG Kenye was actually earlier eying for the Lok Sabha seat when Rio decided to go himself and it may have been a deciding factor of parting ways though they are in the same party.
There are also murmurs alleging high handedness indulged by the party officials on the removal of TR Zeliang, so it had prompted TR's supporters to move to Kaziranga and propose Neiphiu Rio's name for the CM's chair in February.
Although it is not declared out in the open and all the party men hide under the umbrella of the 'unity of the party' for all the decisions and actions of the party there is no doubt of a big underlying current of cut throat power tussle within the party.
Whether the current move of revoking the suspensions orders is in reality a true move for reconciliation or just another power play will be clear only in the next few days.
