EMN
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 10
THE Nagaland Pradesh Congress has once again urged the Centre to expedite the ongoing peace process between the government of India and the NSCN (IM).
Chairman of Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee and All India Congress Committee (AICC) member KV Pusa while welcoming Centre’s new interlocutor RN Ravi urged the Centre to expedite the 17-year-old peace talks between with the NSCN (IM). He said appointing interlocutor one after another would not resolve the issue and insisted that both sides expedite the talks with sincere efforts so as to reach for a logical conclusion to the protracted Naga political problem. He also said any solution between the two parties should be based on historical facts of Naga political issue.
Pusa, the former NPCC president, had also met a host of Indian policymakers, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi several times, and asked them to expedite the peace process and hammer out a solution which would be honourable and acceptable to the people. He had also met Manipur state leaders to soften their rigid stand on Naga political issue.
The Congress leader said he would soon convened a PAC meeting to discuss the latest development in the peace process but added that meeting the Indian leaders time and again to expedite the process would not resolve the issue but there has to be progress in the talks. He also did not rule out PAC meeting the central leaders.
On the proposed Nagaland Special Economic Development Zone (NSDZ) along Assam border proposed by the State government, Pusa welcomed the initiative to uplift the economy of the State but at the same time cautioned that such initiative should not dilute the provisions of Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India which guaranteed the rights of Naga people over land and its resources. He asked the State government to delete any resolution to this effect which would affect the Article 371(A).
On controversy over Nagaland Total Prohibition Act, 1989, Pusa appreciated views expressed by NGOs, churches and people while stating that it has failed in some areas but not a total failure as claimed by some people. He said even though the government has failed to enforce the Act in totality, there had been some impact in rural areas due to the initiative of NGOs and church. “Therefore, we cannot say it is a total failure,” he added. The Congress leader observed that the Act should be re-enforced and strengthened, especially in urban areas. He also lauded the efforts of some NGOs and the church in enforcing prohibition in some villages adding that the government should respect the sentiments of the people. “Lifting of Prohibition Act at this juncture is not advisable,” he said.
The PAC Chairman while welcoming new Governor PB Acharya expressed hope that under his guidance people of the State would have a governance. “I hope that he will bring a governance which is the aspiration of people,” he stated. Pusa also appreciated Governor’s concern with the proxy teachers in government schools. He urged the government to do away with proxy teachers so as to impart quality education to the needy students.
