EMN
DIMAPUR, MARCH 29
The Naga People’s Front (NPF) has written to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampathy asking him to impose “an interim embargo on the careless, reckless electioneering” by Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi with particular reference to the latter’s remarks on the Naga political issue during his election rally on March 27 in Kohima.
“The Naga political problem is a sensitive issue affecting every Naga. Any misleading statement or any public lie as uttered by Shri Rahul Gandhi would have serious security, social and electoral ramifications thereby destroying the very fundamentals of free, fair and objective elections.
“Shri Rahul Gandhi’s lie has therefore to be nailed by the Election Commission of India,” read the NPF complaint to the ECI dated March 28 last, which was made available to the press on Saturday.
The “lie”, purportedly uttered by Rahul Gandhi, pertains to his statement at the rally that the Chief Minister of Nagaland, and the NPF candidate to the Lok Sabha elections, Neiphiu Rio had promised to solve the Naga political issue within 3 months of coming to power in 2003. The NPF wrote to the ECI that such a commitment was baseless and unfounded in the Common Minimum Programme at any time. “DAN, of which the NPF is the major constituent, was voted to power thrice by the people of Nagaland – March 2003, March 2008 and March 2013. DAN had always claimed that it would be a facilitator for resolving the protracted Naga political problem. Under the Constitution of India, the responsibility of resolving the Naga political problem rest with the Union government and not with the State government.
“Despite this the Congress party in the state has been indulging in this meaningless rhetoric that DAN had failed to deliver on its promise of ‘solving the problem in 3 months of coming to power’ despite such a power does not vest under the Constitution of India with the State government.”
Against this argument, the NPF, asked the ECI ascertain whether Rahul Gandhi had deliberately lied and that whether the same needs to be retracted in public “in a similar rally.”
“Whether any severe punishment, including an embargo on his movement in the election campaigning for breaching of ethics and probity in electioneering, is to be imposed on Rahul Gandhi?
“Whether Rahul Gandhi should be further punished for burying the history of failures of the Congress party in betraying the Nagas and the Naga cause in not solving on time the Indo-Naga political problem despite all the 60 legislators urge to the GOI to solve the issue before the last Assembly elections?”
“Whether the Congress party should be debarred from contesting elections in the Northeastern states since Rahul Gandhi by publicly speaking lies on national and security issues like the Naga political issue have jeopardized peace and security in the fragile Northeastern region?” the NPF enquired.
It appealed the ECI to “save the honor of all Nagas who stand humiliated” by Rahul Gandhi’s remarks by sanctioning an interim embargo on his “careless and reckless” electioneering.
In a separate release the party pointing to the lineage of the Congress Vice President as the son of the Congress President Sonia Gandhi said the former’s visit only reaffirmed the ‘deceitful’ character of the Congress party. The party alleged Rahul was brainwashed by the Nagaland Congress seen in his false promises, especially related to the Congress leader’s assurance to spare no efforts to resolve the Naga political issue, while addressing a recent rally at the state capital Kohima.
What was he doing for ten years is what the release questions?
The NPF also rebutted Congress star campaigner’s reference to development in Nagaland a being in ‘reverse gear’ and that Rs 300 crores had been given for roads by the Centre. It clarified that Nagaland is still to be sanctioned its due share of plan funds the question of sanctioning 300 crores for roads does not arise. In fact, the special package announced by the Centre for the ENPO districts to the tune of 300 hundred crores never materialised
The release turned the tables on the ‘reverse gear’ comment by alleging that it was the Centre which put the economy of the country into reverse gear. And if the the Congress led UPA Government that took over from the NDA, when India’s economic growth rate was 11.5 percent it is now barely 5 percent. Similarly the exchange rate of the Rupee to the Dollar was about forty Rupees and today the exchange rate has crossed sixty rupees. Therefore the NPF release states , if the national growth rate is in reverse gear, how did Rahul Gandhi expect the States of the Indian union to be any better.
The statement on the contrary stated Nagaland performed exceptionally well in the past ten years under Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and the NPF led DAN Government. A committee headed by Raghuram Rajan, the present Governor of Reserve Bank of India, set up by the Government of India rated the development index of all the states on 10 parameters including, monthly per capita income, education, health, household amenities, poverty rate, female literacy, urbanisation, connectivity and financial inclusion. In this rating Nagaland was the 13th State overall even ahead of states like Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, etc. Apparently, Rahul Gandhi is unaware of his own government’s documents and ratings.
. The Congress led UPA also denied the Naga people the Prime Minister’s package in 2003 announced by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The PM’s announcement of four laning of the national highway between Kohima and Dimapur was rejected by the Congress and till today the commitment of the prime Minister of India has been denied to the Naga people, the release added.
