NPF to divorce BJP in Manipur only after LS elections

Dimapur, May 18 (EMN): As expected, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) on Saturday decided to sever its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Manipur.

Announcing the decision via a Facebook post on Saturday, the Leader of Opposition, TR Zeliang wrote: “After an intense deliberation and review meeting with the party functionaries and the NPF MLAs of Manipur state, the NPF party has decided in principle to pull out our four NPF MLAs from the BJD-led government in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh right after the election process to the Lok Sabha is completed.”

According to Zeliang, the decision “at this juncture” was forced by “the indifferent attitude” of the BJP towards the NPF in Manipur as well as in Nagaland. Further implementation of this decision will be finalised after the election process, he wrote.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) issued a statement dismissing the statements of the NPF and Zeliang as nothing but a sign of directionless leadership.

“It (NPF) has been extremely critical of the BJP and the PDA in Nagaland with allegations of the BJP being anti-secular and anti-Christian. In Nagaland, the BJP is painted as a Hindutva party but in Manipur the NPF has always been in alliance with the BJP to the extent of having a minister in the BJP-led Manipur cabinet. It is also a fact that in the eyes of the NPF, as long as it was in alliance with the BJP, they had no problems with the party but once the NPF landed in opposition, it started being critical of the BJP from every possible angle.

“The NFP president, Dr. Shurhozelie has gone to the extent of saying that the BJP is a natural ally of the NPF but now he claims that the BJP is a Hindu party. The NPF president, who has claimed to be a regionalist to the core, has voted for the Congress in the recent Lok Sabha elections and his party leaders led by the Leader of Opposition, T R Zeliang and Rajya Sabha MP KG Kenye have even shared the dais with the Congress party during Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Dimapur, heaping praise on the Congress,” the statement read.

This, according to the NDPP, is not the first instance of the NPF president discarding regional ideology for the sake of personal benefit.

“In the past too, he contested as an independent candidate with the symbol of bus and made the absurd claim that he did it to rescue the cock symbol. It was also under him that the then chief minister KL Chishi was betrayed, backstabbed and removed from office in 1990; it is therefore ironic that today the NPF is in alliance with the Congress, supporting Chishi’s candidature.”

On the NPF’s decision to cut off ties with the BJP in Manipur after the elections, the NDPP posed: “Who are they trying to fool? If they want to pull out, why not now? Why after the Lok Sabha results? Such ridiculous approach speaks volumes of the lack of integrity and commitment on the part of the NPF and its leaders.”It stated that the NDPP will never be involved in such double standards and will always uphold the mandate of the people.

“We continue to respect the spirit of our alliance and we will continue to conduct ourselves with political maturity by upholding truth. The NDPP will continue to reflect the aspirations of the people and we will always carry the voice of the masses,” read the NDPP statement.