Naga People’s Front president clarifies on RS polls, apologises to people of Nagaland

Dimapur, March 21 (EMN): The president of Naga People’s Front (NPF), Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu, on Monday clarified the party’s stand regarding the biennial election to the Rajya Sabha in Nagaland.

“As an old regional party, it is our bounden duty to take a stand to represent the voice of the people, to preserve the cultural heritage of the land, to defend the faith of the people and to voice the urgent need for an early solution to the Indo-Naga political problem. Towards this approach, we need leaders who are well conversant with the political history of Nagaland so as to convey the true picture of Nagaland to the national leaders in the Parliament.  With this in mind, we invited application from our leaders,” read the press release.

The NPF president lauded the party’s working president Thenucho Tunyi for coming forward to stand for Rajya Sabha election.

“Mr. Thenucho Tunyi, the Working President of NPF came forward to stand as NPF candidate and we accepted his papers considering him to be the right candidate to fill the lone seat to represent Nagaland in Rajya Sabha. I highly appreciate his determination. To file the nomination of a candidate it is necessary for 10 MLAs to nominate him as per Part X, Misc. Sec. 152 of the Representation of the People’s Act. 1951. But till the last moment, we failed to fulfil this required criteria and in this way, the last hour was over,” it added.

Liezietsu said that “even as President, I am not in a position to speak for others how and why this could not be fulfilled”.

“In spite of all these setbacks, I must express my thanks to the Legal Cell and COB officers of the party who took trouble and arranged everything in order in time even to the extent of signing the Party Ticket. I am constrained to say ‘sorry’ to the people of Nagaland for no fault of mine,” he continued.

It came hours after the Naga People’s Front Legislature Party (NPFLP) decided not to field any candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, observing that doing so would mean the party’s withdrawal from the coalition UDA government which it is part of.

While stating that it endorsed his stand about the NDPP and BJP not taken proper consultation for nomination to the Rajya Sabha, the NPFLP said that it had reaffirmed not to file nomination to the said election.

The NPF president had on Saturday written a letter to NPFLP leader TR Zeliang, requesting him to entrust the MLAs to sign the nomination paper for Tunyi on March 21 morning.