Zeliang urges patient from women on ULB election

KOHIMA — Deputy Chief Minister and convenor of the Select Committee, TR Zeliang, has appealed to the women not to let the issue of reservation for the post of chairperson, which was omitted in the new Nagaland Municipal Act 2023, be the bottleneck in the successful implementation of the ULB election.

He has called upon the women to be onboard with their male counterparts. With their capability and perseverance, he expressed confidence that women would give the men fair and tough competition for the post and there would not be any reasons why they would need reservation for the same.

The bill finally saw the light of day with 33% women reservation, he said while expressing confidence women’s involvement in planning and policy-making, towns would be positively impacted.

“Women will get the much-needed boost to be elected representatives in the ULBs and be part of the decision-making body for our Municipals and Towns,” Zeliang said.

He said the passage of the new Act brought a “closure to the bitter past events.”

The deputy chief minister was referring to the 2017 incident where his government (chief minister then) notification of elections to the ULBs met with stiff opposition from the tribal hohos resulting in the loss of lives and properties damaged.

He added that he does not blame anyone for anything, but his own insignificance and shortcomings as a human.

“Whatever happened was not a personal political loss, as many have commented,” Zeliang said adding he saw a collective gain for the Nagas with a consensus and all sections of the Nagas have understood and rightly perceived the matter which is constitutionally mandated.

Also read: Workshop on mental health held in Kohima