Nagaland government ready to pave way to bring peace, Chief Minister Rio reiterates

KOHIMA — Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Monday reiterated that in the event of the Naga political issue coming to a logical conclusion, his government is ready to pave the way for the “next arrangement” to bring peace.

Speaking to the media persons on the sidelines of the first day of the fourth session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), Rio said that “pave the way” in English language is “very clear.”

“Once the settlement comes which is honourable, acceptable and inclusive, then we (NLAs) are ready to pave the way for the next arrangement to bring peace into our land,” he said

He also informed that the NLA would be taking up the issue of Free Movement Regime (FMR) for discussions in the ongoing session.

‘FNT draft from Amit Shah’

Meanwhile, the chief minister said that the draft on Frontier Naga Territory (FNT), which was presented by the Eastern Nagaland Legislators Union (ENLU) during a meeting with the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), was ‘definitely from the union home ministry’.

“The draft is definitely, of Home Ministry, Government of India, and it was handed over to me by none other than the Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji, to discuss with the elected members (ENLU) and the ENPO people,” Rio said.

The chief minister noted that two statements emerged from the meeting between the ENPO and ENLU, wherein the elected members said that the ENPO and all the members who were present at the meeting unanimously rejected the draft, while the ENPO insisted that it had not received the draft and were unaware of the content presented by ENLU.

Maintaining that the confusion is between themselves, Rio said the state cabinet had decided that the ENLU and ENPO should convene a meeting, following which the state government would communicate the outcome, whether or not they agree on the FNT draft, to the MHA.

On the ENPO’s insistence that the MHA should give the draft directly to them, he said the state government had only done what it was assigned to do.

“If they want, let them ask. They don’t have to go through the state. That is not our problem. But since we are assigned to do, we did and if they don’t agree then, since they are having direct talk with the MHA, they can directly ask,” he said.