Rio and Pusa files nominations; Congress says Rio escaping heat of huge deficit

Principal Correspondent
KOHIMA, MARCH 20

CANDIDATES of the two major political parties in the state, ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Opposition Congress (INC) today filed nomination to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls in Nagaland scheduled for April 9.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is the official candidate for NPF while former minister and NPCC president KV Pusa filed nominations as INC candidate before the Returning Officer for Nagaland Parliamentary Constituency, Temjen Toy.
Interacting with media-persons coming out of the RO’s room, Congress candidate KV Pusa asserted to work for the welfare of the Naga people if given chance to go to the parliament. He also said efforts would be seriously made for development of the ENPO areas.
“Prosperity, secularism and peace in Nagaland would give the top priority,” he said.
He also optimistically expressed the hope to gain the sympathy of the electors in the state to go to the parliament.
Meanwhile, Pusa also term as ‘unprecedented’ the decision of Rio to go to Delhi leaving the Chief Ministership in the state. Maintaining that this is one of the first of its kind in the entire country, he expressed surprise that in other states MPs fight to be Chief Minister but Rio wants to be an MP.
Reacting to Rio’s allegations that Congress in Nagaland in anti-Naga, he said “Rio is off-track as Congress is very much for the Naga people because it was during the Congress regime that the Cease Fire agreements were signed while the Congress led UPA government at the Centre had given Rs 712 crore for implementation of 6th RoP.
Congress Legislature Party leader Tokheho Yepthomi, who had accompanied Pusa while filing the nomination, said Rio wants to leave Nagas with over Rs 2000 crore deficit.
Former Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland, W. Wangyuh Konyak supplemented the Congress leaders stating that Rio is contesting the election with the hope of becoming a Union Minister and also because he wants to escape from running the affairs of the government after creating huge deficit.
Meanwhile, Pusa said the party would officially kick start the election campaign only after the scrutiny is done while ruling NPF has announced launching of the campaign from March 27.
The last date for filing nominations is March 22 while scrutiny will be taken up on March 24 and last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 26.