Dimapur, Oct. 12 (EMN): Opposition Naga People’s Front (NPF) has asked Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio why he did not object to the Citizenship Amendment Bill when political leaders from other NE states were raising their voice against it.
According to an NPF statement on Saturday, it could be agreed that the Mizo Accord, followed by special provision of Article 371 (G) and Assam Accord which gave birth to NRC, safeguards the interest of the indigenous people of Mizoram and Assam.
Likewise, the 16-Point Agreement leading to the birth of Article 371 (A) is intended to safeguard the interest of the indigenous people of Nagaland, it stated.
“Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland have Inner Line Permit (ILP) while Meghalaya has Entry and Exit points. However, despite all these provisio and measures, many leaders in the NE states protested against CAB which included Conrad Sangma, chief minister of Meghalaya; Zoramthanga, chief minister of Mizoram; and Biren Singh, chief minister of Manipur. Three Asom Gana Parishad leaders even resigned as state ministers over the controversy on CAB after they tendered their resignations to Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananada Sonowal.
“Despite all the hue and cry, Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio stubbornly refused to budge from his naïve belief that Nagaland was protected from CAB under Article 371 (A) and ILP. Does this imply that his counterparts in other NE states were raising alarms out of a non-issue or was it Neiphiu Rio who rather failed to understand the reality? If we really mean to uphold Article 371 (A), we should raise our voice before any contentious bill is passed so that exemption of the bill can be incorporated in the said bill,” read the statement.
It went on to state that the CAB was proposed in the Lok Sabha on July 15, 2016 and referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on August 12, 2016 when Neiphiu Rio was the Lok Sabha MP representing NPF.
Therefore, when Neiphiu Rio himself was the Lok Sabha MP at that point of time, how can the blame be shifted to the NPF party today? it asked. “As the MP from the NPF party representing Nagaland, it was his bounden duty to have consulted the state government back home while taking into confidence the voice of the Naga people since the said bill was referred to the JPC which took over a year. However, Neiphiu Rio failed to do this because he was ignorant of what was going on in the Parliament during his tenure.”
According to the party, ‘effective governance’ is based on how government conduct public affairs and manage public resources. “But unfortunately, the approach of NDPP-led government is built on ‘words and not deeds’ and the end result is in full public display for all to see.
“When NDPP preach of ‘development for all, together with all’, it must understand that governance and development also means the right and the means to examine the process of decision making and the responsibility of being able to provide details of actions taken. It is about being able to explain, clarify and account for the action of the government of the day,” it stated.
