Governance in Nagaland limited only to Dimapur, Kohima — RPP

Our Reporter

Dimapur, March 26 (EMN): After observing the conditions of various villages and towns across the state during Rising People’s Party (RPP) “walk to save Nagaland”, its president Joel Naga opined that there is ‘no government’ in Nagaland with governance only in Kohima and Dimapur.

He stated this during the reception cum press conference held after the culmination of the month-long walkathon at Supermarket in Dimapur on Saturday.

The RPP president claimed that no schemes reach the villages and there are no foothill roads despite the Central government sanctioning budget for the foothill roads.

He shared that the party opted to walk because they wanted to see the reality, and interact with various leaders and villagers.

“We come to the conclusion that there is no governance in other districts, other than Kohima and Dimapur”, he said.

He said that even in an advanced district like Mokokchung, some areas specifically Longchem EAC headquarters area “is one of the most backward area” where the bridges are made of wood and vehicles have to ply on the wooden bridge. He was informed by the villagers that lots of youths from Longching under Mon district have migrated to other places as child labour, domestic help, or daily wage earners.

Further, he opined that Tobu and Aboi deserve a separate district as per the understanding of the RPP. He also mentioned that there is a need for a Border Area department as border areas are the ‘most neglected’ areas.

‘There is no developmental area and people are suffering as there are no government schemes, health centres, dispensaries, or economic activities,’ he added.

“Nagas are hospitable and good people but they have become very sceptical because government leaders make many big promises during election campaigns but nothing is fulfilled”, he shared.

He also said that Aboi is a fast growing town, with 11 schools and one higher secondary school, ‘but they need a college and therefore RPP supports their demand’.

 Tuli is also a fast growing town and they need passenger trains, he stated, adding that ‘Tuli has everything’ and it can become the next industrial hub so the government should have a proper policy in place.

‘All the young people from Mon are into sports, so the government should set up a sports academy in Mon,’ he suggested.

RPP to contest upcoming election

Joel Naga stated that their next step is to identify potential leaders for the coming election and they intend to set up candidates wherever possible and feasible, ‘because as an electoral party we have to fight the electoral battle’.

“Because we all know the system is corrupted and RPP will be a political part, we need to send representatives to the NLA, if there has to be change in Nagaland”, he said. Further, he replied that if possible they want to set up candidates in all the assembly seats but “it will not be possible because we are looking for good leaders and good leaders are hard to come.”

He also stated that they will not have any alliance with other parties even in the coming days.

The treasurer of RPP, Vitho Zao appealed to the Naga public to ‘stop selling their votes’. He said that the walk was to ‘see the reality’ of the state and also mentioned that the Jal Jeevan Mission is not being implemented in other towns and villages where it is needed the most.

He suggested that the system of electing leaders should change, and “we should elect a leader and not politicians”. 

He also declared that property owned by RPP ‘belongs to the Nagas’.

‘We are not immediately looking for power but sowing seeds for the future’, he added.

The youth wing president Zhukhoi also encouraged the people to come together and use the platform. He asked the people to push and motivate sincere persons to become good leaders, or else Nagaland will never change.

The convenor of The Naga Rising, Along Longkumer, stated that the ‘walk is a sacrifice for our people’.

‘One of the motivating factors why RPP is here today is because of our children and the youths,’ he said.

“Someday our children will hold us accountable for not doing the right thing, and so the RPP is giving new hope to our people”, he said.