Dimapur, July 6 (EMN): War of words between the Naga People’s Front (NPF), Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) over Nagaland Governor RN Ravi’s recent letter to the chief minister continues as more rejoinders have been issued by the political parties in connection with the matter.
The NPF through a press communiqué stated that the question of the party attempting to mar the cordial relationship between the present PDA government and the governor does not arise, claiming that the governor as well as the public doesn’t trust the incumbent government “as there is no semblance of governance”.
Stating that the August 3 2015 Framework Agreement was signed during the NPF-led-DAN government and that its delegation in Delhi was keeping in touch with the NSCN (IM) and the NNPG before the political talk “successfully concluded” on October 31, 2019, the NPF asked what the PDA government and the NDPP had contributed to the two political events.
“The PDA Govt. has also mentioned about the present pandemic in their reply to the hon’ble Governor saying thousands of returnees are being provided all facilities of health care, food and accommodations. Isn’t it hilarious to claim that the returnees are provided with good care when there are thousands of complaints from almost all the quarantine centres?” the press communiqué read, while reminding the mishandling of returnees in Tuensang and Jalukie.
The party went on to state that the PDA government must resigned on moral ground, claiming that the present government has failed on all front including law and order.
In yet another press release, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on Monday likened the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) to a “rotten boat” aimlessly sailing with political fortune seekers, and that it’s a matter of time before it sinks.
“The current confusion of NDPP and state govt on law and order situation is fully apparent. While the state govt refutes the statement of the Hon’ble Governor on the ‘precarious law and order situation,’ the NDPP talks about cordial relationship with the Governor and desperately attempts to rake up the past, forgetting the present difficult situation. Their hypocrisy stands fully exposed,” the press release read.
With regard to the aborted ULB elections of 2017, it said the NDPP should make the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) report public and take necessary action on those responsible behind the unrest and destruction. It added the NDPP should urge the government to declare the JIC report “if it wants to take a high moral ground”.
The NPCC also stated that the pleading of state cabinet to the Eastern Nagaland Legislators Union and Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation to “forgive and forget” the Tuensang returnee fiasco was an indictment of failure. It claimed that “the chief minister and his coterie have been literally running around like headless chickens in matters of governance especially during this Covid-19 lockdown period”.
On the Naga political issue, the NPCC claimed that “NDPP and its partner BJP are only paying lip service”.
“It has now become apparently clear that the present PDA govt is the biggest obstacle to hammering out the final peace agreement on the Indo-Naga political issue. Therefore, the Hon’ble Governor who is also the Interlocutor for peace talks must prevail upon the Central Govt. to remove the state govt. which is only trying to sail in two boats while attempting to escape responsibility of maintaining law and order situation as well as delivering good governance,” the statement of NPCC read.
In a separate statement issued by the working president of NPCC, Khriedi Theünuo, the party has accused the state government of making misleading statement on the charges of the governor with regard to the perilous law and order situation.
“Whereas, it is the four provisions of Article 371 A (1) (a) that grants special rights to the Nagas to do away the Acts of the Parliament with a mere resolution in the State Assembly, which has been the precedence from time to time,” the Congress said the rest of the clauses is about “responsibility given to the Governor of Nagaland with regard to law and order in the State”.
It went on to say that doing away with the special responsibility granted to the governor by passing a mere resolution in the Assembly is unjustified.