Patton says ENPO cannot shift blame on Nagaland government

DIMAPUR — Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland, Y Patton, on Friday rebutted allegations that the state government was responsible for delaying the settlement of the Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT).

Responding to the claim of Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) that the government of Nagaland’s delay in submitting ‘comments’ on the draft memorandum of settlement (MoS) to the Ministry of Home Affairs resulted in the delay, Patton asserted that the government cannot be blamed as the ENPO did not consult with the state in the first place.

Since there was no initial consultation with the state government, it cannot be held accountable for any delay in the process, he told media persons on the sidelines of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meeting in Dimapur.

Also read: ENPO stands firm on election abstention; faults Nagaland government for FNT delay

Maintaining that the state government is doing its best, he said it would continue to appeal to the ENPO to take part in the electoral process. Polling stations will be opened across the state on April 19, the day of election, he added.

Responding to queries on the numerous allegations made by the Congress against the BJP and the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA), Advisor for Tribal Affairs and Election, Tovihoto Ayemi said the ruling alliance doesn’t want to counter every minor statement made by the grand old party as its presence is negligible in the state.

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Regarding the pro-Congress wave on social media, the advisor acknowledged that there may be differences in opinions and perspectives but expressed confidence that that PDA consensus candidate Dr Chumben Murry will deliver as all the alliance partners and the 60 MLAs are together.

On the recent statement issued by the convenor of Clean Election Movement (Nagaland Baptist Church Council), he wondered why such issues surface only during election. Maintaining that it is perspective of only a segment of the population, he said, “everything is fine”.

Further, he said that the BJP meeting on Friday was to strengthen the party and centred on securing a strong public mandate and ensuring their candidate’s victory by a significant margin.