The ball is in Centre’s court, NTC on Naga political issue

Dimapur, Aug. 29 (EMN): The Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has urged the government of India (GoI) to resolve the Naga political issue at the earliest without inhibition, assuring that “the people are ever ready to have the solution and also ever prepared to handle should there be any consequences”.

In a press statement, the NTC also said the ball is now in the Centre’s court and it is time “to make it or unmake it without keeping the people of Nagaland in suspense any longer”.

While expressing concern over the uncertainties on the fate of the political negotiations between the GoI and the two groups of the Naga political negotiators – NSCN (IM) and WC-NNPG – despite signing Framework Agreement in 2015 and Agreed Position 2017 respectively, it said the ‘peace process’ stretching for quarter of a century “has immense toll on the life of the citizens in Nagaland”.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee report, which was tabled in both houses of the Parliament on July 19, 2018, “strongly recommends that the government should conclude the peace talks, at the earliest, based on a broad understanding over the most contentious issues…” but Naga political issue hasn’t been taken up for discussion in the Parliament, the NTC lamented.

“The elected representatives, particularly from Nagaland in both the Houses of Parliament and in the State Assembly did take little interest to pursue the long cherished solution to the Naga political issue,” read the statement.

It said the public has become victims of unabated multiple illegal taxations, and “suppressive and anti-people activities of the selfish authorities and the armed elements alike under the signed ceasefires during the last 25 years”. “The worst victims are the educated youth and the tens of thousands of the school dropouts,” it added.

Maintaining that “the sole remedial measure for the existing ailment of Nagaland is the Naga political solution”, it said the ‘consequences of further delay in solution or the fiasco will be disastrous’.

The NTC is also of the opinion that the GoI and the UDA government are indifferent “towards sincere conclusion of the peace process” despite completing official negotiations on October 31, 2019.

Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise during his visit to Nagaland in 2015 to solve the Naga political issue within 18 months and the BJP’s slogan ‘election for solution’ during 2018 state polls and the subsequent conclusion of talks with Naga negotiators, it said the ball is in the court of the government of India to solve the issue.

The NTC claimed that the four-point resolution adopted by the Core Committee on the Naga Political Issue on July 16 2022 was “found scuttled and allowed it to die a premature death”, adding that “the UDA is hell bent against solution”.

It went on to term the chief minister’s focus on the upcoming state Assembly election as a “ploy to demean the peaceful process” and “the opinion of the NDPP President that the MLAs are to resign post the attainment of the agreement implies that the MLAs have refused to pave the way”.