EMN
DIMAPUR, MAY 28
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has asked the TR Zeliang led government to withdraw its support to the “BJP government in the centre” immediately and extend solidarity to the other NE states who are demanding special category status.
This statement from the NPCC, contained in a press release issued today, comes in the backdrop of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely defending the removal of special category status to some states, including Nagaland, on the contention that that it was based on the recommendation of 14th Finance Commission.
The NPCC argued that the removal of special category status can never be based on technical decision alone but a political decision and that the BJP cannot blame the 14th FC.
It pointed out that the Nagaland government is the only one from the Northeast that offer support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Center.
As such, the NPCC stated, TR Zeliang should immediately withdraw its support if he “is really serious about the condition of the state.”
The “condition of the state”, according to the NPCC, was that Nagaland is unable to even provide 10% matching grant towards the 90-10 funding ratio and rather demanding for 100% assistance. “Removal of special category status will lead to providing 25-70% matching grant that will surely sound a death knell for resource crunch states,” it warned.
With infrastructure development still in nascent stages coupled with multiple insurgency problem, corporate and FDI investment are farfetched dreams in NE states, the NPCC said.
Against this backdrop, the NPCC pointed out, “restoration of special category status is not the only objective but the need to revise and enhance the provisions to cater for the growth of economy and empowerment of the youth with more investments needed in employment oriented projects and industries.”
It went on to state that the discriminatory attitude of the BJP government towards the NE states is plainly evident despite their rhetoric’s and jumla’s at every given opportunity. “The brazen display of talks about the majority sentiments is nothing but an imposition on other minorities of what the majority thinks and acts. This is clearly an attempt to divide the society that will yield disastrous consequences in the near future. The Nagas have no future with the communal BJP,“ the NPCC said.
