Niki Sumi asks if Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry is above Naga nation

DIMAPUR — President of the NSCN/GPRN (K) , Gen (Retd.) Niki Sumi on Tuesday disapproved the decision of the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) to initiate an indefinite shutter down strike and place blame on Naga political groups (NPGs) for taxation issue.

He argued that the DCCI’s approach and demands are ‘wrong’, as the matter primarily concerns the Government of India and NPGs, not the state government.

Stating that the DCCI’s actions might inadvertently lead to consequences, he refrained from elaborating further, leaving it to DCCI to comprehend the situation and decide their course of action.

Addressing journalists at the Cease Fire Supervisory Board (CFSB) office in Padumpukhuri, Dimapur, Niki Sumi asked if the DCCI is above the Naga nation or the government of India. He also alleged that most of the members of the trade body are not business people.

On the number of factions in Nagaland, he claimed that the government of India only recognises three groups — the NSCN (IM), which has signed the Framework Agreement with the Centre, the Working Committee, Naga National Political Groups, which has signed the Agree Position, and his group.

In this connection, Sumi claimed that the Centre has asked the NSCN (K) for its charter of demands, but he has not placed the demands. He said that the group would only engage in dialogue with the government of India once the Naga people unite.

He noted that in Dimapur, individuals often rise to leadership positions in unions because of their ability to intimidate non-locals, and not because they are involved in any work pertaining to the unions they represent.

While he respects the role of frontal organisation, Sumi went on to state that unions are temporary in nature and working for their own benefit.

Regarding the shutter down in Nagaland, he questioned how a trade body can dictate terms to the entire state and the state government. The tribal frontal organisations are bigger than the DCCI, a business union which is temporary and has no legitimacy to dictate terms to the entire Nagaland populace, he maintained.

He pointed out that NPGs exclusively engage with the Government of India on national matters, completely bypassing interactions with the state government, which also has no say in the national issue.

He said that there were no discussions about tax during the signing of the 2001 ceasefire agreement except that the NSCN (K) would take taxes not by force through means like kidnapping or harassment, but only by mutual understanding to sustain the government.

He also shared that they had notified the interlocutor, AK Mishra and the chairman of CFSB that any breach in the ceasefire agreement would be because of state forces.

Further, the NSCN (K) president expressed willingness to support young Naga entrepreneurs by not imposing taxes and providing assistance.

However, there are no genuine Naga entrepreneurs, he claimed, alleging that there are several businesses that appear to be owned by Nagas. But in reality, it is the non-locals who run the operations while Naga individuals claim ownership and extract profits from them.

He also acknowledged the possibility of individuals collecting taxes in the name of NPGs without their knowledge, attributing such actions to ‘overground’ elements exploiting the NPGs’ reputation.

Also read: Nagaland government has taken serious note of extortion issue, says Deputy CM Patton