EMN
DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 5
Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) while taking jibes at the BJP has said that the latter party combined with the RSS is heating up communal temperatures across the country. The NPCC also alleged the BJP government in its earlier tenure of six years had done nothing for Nagaland except the package of Rs. 365 crores to wipe out the deficit.
In a statement the NPCC said that six months into power at the Centre and the state BJP unit thinks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can do no wrong despite taking 25 U-turns on several key policy issues and communal temperatures being heated up across the country by the BJP-RSS combine.
“What Congress leader KV Pusa brought out on Modi’s visit to the state is a fact that has become a bitter pill for the state BJP to swallow and the eagerness to blame everything on Congress by the BJP will continue since it has no magic wand to fulfill its tall promises made in the heat of election campaign,” it stated.
According to the NPCC, the state BJP unit has conveniently forgotten that the BJP led NDA was in power for six years (1998-2004) and has not brought out anything substantial for the state except the peace bonus package of Rs 365 crores given by the then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee to wipe out the deficit incurred by the previous Congress government as a result of implementing the 5th RoP in 2002 which the BJP government at Centre refused to aid. Compared to BJP, the Congress government had done immense contribution to the state irrespective of party in power.
The NPCC claimed that the UPA government had provided thousands of crores of rupees for implementation of various central flagship programs. Other things the UPA had done were granting of Rs. 712 crores in 2010 for the state to implement the 6th RoP; setting up of National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Dimapur; sanctioning of Medical College in the state for which the DAN government has laid the foundation stone in the outskirts of Kohima; approving Rs. 1098 crores for converting Dimapur-Kohima road into four lanes which has been delayed by DAN government’s inaction; and implementation of SARDP-NE project of Rs. 1296 crores for widening of four state major roads that has been badly ‘mishandled’ by the DAN government.
“Moreover, it was unfortunate that Prime Minister Modi chooses to remain silent on the vexed Indo- Naga political issue that is as old as the country’s independence and only indulges in rhetoric of generalizing North East region without any specific mention of the state. By refusing to even meet the leaders of a Naga political group currently in talks with the Centre, it is amply demonstrated that the Naga political issue has been kept in cold storage by the Prime Minister. The UPA government in 10 years of its rule had always extended due courtesy to the leaders of NPGs and was willing to go extra mile to bring about a political solution unlike the present dispensation that is least bothered to even make a mention of it,” the NPCC stated.
It then said the talk about the investment of Rs. 63,000 crores for development of the North East region is just a continuation of the UPA’s schemes that has been repackaged and rebranded for cheap political stunts. “It was also amusing to see Prime Minister Modi trying to humour the people of North East region by promising 2G telecom connectivity when the rest of the country is switching over to 4G connectivity from the present 3G technology. This exposes the mindset of the Prime Minister and the BJP who believe that the North East people can be easily fooled, but today’s well informed generation will not accept the cheap gimmicks”, the NPCC statement added.
On the issue of patronizing middle-men system and percentage commission by the UPA as alleged by the State BJP, the NPCC statement said they (BJP) are advised to ask the NPF government who had dealt with the UPA government for the last 10 years and clarify to the public with substantial facts rather than indulge in cheap politicking. It further said the BJP should not forget that its own national president Bangaru Laxman in 2001 was caught on camera in a sting operation by Tehelka accepting cash of Rs. 1 lakh from supposed middlemen on fake defence deal and was convicted by a Special CBI Court on April 27, 2012 which sentenced him to four years rigorous imprisonment.
“Therefore, taking a high moral ground will not convince the public when the present BJP government is bending backwards to fast track all land acquisition processes, coastal and environmental clearances for the benefit of corporate houses like the Adani Group to loot the nation, not forgetting the announcement of a massive Rs. 6200 crore loan extended by the SBI to Gautam Adani to pursue coal mining venture in Australia during Modi’s visit to that country,” the NPCC statement pointed out.
According to the statement, the Congress policy of ‘inclusive growth’ that encompasses all sections of the society without any bias on racial, ethnic, language, religion, culture and region has withstood the test of time while the BJP-RSS idea of nationhood based on Hindutva ideology that seeks to establish ‘one nation one culture’ based on majority rule will eventually polarize the nation. It also said the recent statements of BJP leaders in and outside the Parliament brazenly using derogatory and inflammatory words particularly against the religious minorities, frequent occurrence of communal clashes across the country, saffronization attempt of education by RSS backed scholars, promotion of crony capitalism at the expense of common people’s interest are the few indicators in which the BJP government promoted by RSS and its affiliates are dragging the country to the path of utter ruins much to the delight of our hostile neighbouring countries.
“Instead of blindly defending their communal masters and their endless rhetoric, the state BJP leaders should realize that they have jumped into an empty pond without understanding the true colors of BJP-RSS combine whose professed idea of nationhood has no place for the religious minorities and oppressed castes,” the NPCC press note stated.
