DIMAPUR, JUNE 17: The Naga Hoho has washed its hands off a recent statement reportedly made by its general secretary concerning “(Member of Parliament) Neiphiu Rio toppling TR Zeliang govt. in the near future,” among others. The Naga Hoho issued a press release on Friday saying that their general secretary Mutsikhoyo Yhobu’s comments were personal and not representative of the organization’s opinions.
The organization said to have met in an emergency meeting on June 17 in Dimapur. The press release stated: “(The organization) have expressed surprised over the statement made by the general secretary of the Naga Hoho which was capitulated in local dailies, dated 15th & 16th June, 2016, under the caption reportedly authored by one Kangkan Acharyya in his ‘After big win in Assam, BJP eyes Nagaland; seeks to take advantage of rift in ruling’ that ‘whatever Rio does to claim back his empire is to be done before assembly election that will be held in 2018’ and ‘Neiphiu Rio toppling TR Zeliang govt. in the near future.”’
The Naga hoho affirmed itself as an ‘apolitical organization’ and “stands clear of the very fact that, Naga Hoho belongs to all the Nagas and does not subscribe to any political parties and shall not compromise on the Naga political issue.”
The views and opinions expressed by the general secretary “does not hold water and reflects the opinions of Naga Hoho,” it explained.
“This is totally his personal views and in no ways the Naga Hoho endorses such statements,” the press release added.
A late dispatch was received here from general secretary Mutsikhoyo Yhobu on Firday.
“Mr. Acharyya called me up through phone and introduced himself as a reporter for CNN IBM and that he desired to see me and since he persisted I agreed to meet him. We met in the NSF office on 8th June, 2016 at around 3:30 p.m. When we met I told him that if he desired to meet the Naga Hoho he should have met my president, i.e., the president of the Naga Hoho but he said he personally wanted to meet me regarding my personal opinions about the present political scenario in the north east,” the rejoinder from Yhobu stated.
“I implicitly told him that I was not a politician and moreover I being a member of the Naga Hoho cannot make any statements with political overtones but that the Naga Hoho stands for an honourable Naga political settlement.”
Yhobu stated that “the news reporter had completely distorted our interaction.”
The statement read: “In the course of our discussion among other things I said that it was by his own choice that Mr. Rio decided to become an MP by vacating his seat as CM. Also that if and when Mr. Rio decides to come back to state politics he would try to come back as CM and not as a mere MLA and as such the statements ascribed to me as in the article are not true. I also would like to add that the above opinions shared by me were purely my personal opinions and not the opinion of the Naga Hoho.”
