Extend Nagaland Legislative Assembly session, Zeliang writes to Governor

Dimapur, Aug. 1 (EMN): Seeking extension of business session of the forthcoming Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) session to three days, as against the proposed one-day session on August 13, the leader of opposition TR Zeliang on Saturday placed three options before Governor RN Ravi.

In a letter addressed to the governor, Zeliang suggested that the Assembly could be convened from August 11 to the 13th; or defer the commencement date to a day after August 15; or commence the session on August 13 as scheduled and adjourn the House without sine die and resume for another two days after August 15 (post recess).

“After 23 years of political dialogue, the Naga political issue, as I understand, has arrived at a crucial stage and concern stakeholders, particularly the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), need to generate space for deliberation on the matter. During my tenure as chief minister, on July 23 and 24, 2015, the Naga political issue was discussed for two consecutive days in the NLA. More than ever, the issue has grown more significant today and the same ought to find room for discussion on the floor of the NLA.

“Likewise, against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has witnessed 1693 positive cases and six deaths as of today (August 1), it is only appropriate for the NLA to set aside enough time for discussion on the matter on the floor of the Assembly. Furthermore, deliberation on the Sarfaesi Act, 2002 is equally important and the NLA cannot continue to ignore the matter unlike during the 5th session when the matter was dismissed from being discussed even after the same was finalised by the business advisory committee (BAC),” Zeliang wrote.

To discuss all these, he said, one-day session is not enough.

“It is understood that the date of commencement and the number of days for Assembly sessions should be chosen at the convenience of the speaker and the leader of the House. However, the same privilege cannot act as a license for either the speaker or the leader of the House to construe duration of Assembly sessions according to their personal suitability.

“As is evident, the culpability of holding a one-day session has been shifted to the Raj Bhavan by releasing bulletin part-II vide No.AS/LEG-36/2020 on the night of July 29 by the assembly secretariat. The bulletin maintains that the direction of the governor for postponement “indicated” August 13, which implies that the 6th session of the 13th NLA will be a one-day session for the reason that most of the MLAs will move to various administrative HQs on August 14, 2020 for hoisting the national flag on Independence Day,” he wrote.

According to Zeliang, he had proposed the extension of the 6th session before the speaker on July 25 “but the same went unattended”.

Conceding that the present situation may not be conducive for holding normal Assembly session since the state is reeling under immense pressure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Zeliang however maintained that “a one-day session is not adequate by all means”.