Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses the inauguration programme of National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation Limited (NUCFDC) in New Delhi on Saturday, March 02, 2024. (Photo: IANS)
Call for appointment of interlocutor
DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 7 (MExN): Twenty-one Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MP) from various political parties have urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to provide a detailed update in Parliament on the stalled Naga peace process and appoint a full-time interlocutor to revive negotiations.
In a joint letter addressed to Shah, the MPs called for immediate government action, warning that the stagnation of talks could “threaten to erode nearly three decades of painstaking progress.” The letter, which has been widely circulated on social media, expressed concerns over the lack of transparency and momentum in the peace process.
The letter stated that since the resignation of the last interlocutor in September 2021, the Government has not so far appointed a full-time negotiator, relying instead on an official in an ad-hoc capacity. “This absence of a dedicated full-time interlocutor leads to an unsettling inconsistency, with channels of communication reportedly disrupted and meetings between the negotiating parties occurring sporadically,” it stated.
The MPs observed that such a fragmented approach threatens to erode nearly three decades of painstaking progress, “jeopardizing the trust and goodwill carefully nurtured over the years.” They also pointed to “growing discontent among stakeholders regarding the systematic exclusion of elected representatives from meaningful engagement in the negotiations.”
“The opacity surrounding a matter,” they noted has rendered the process vulnerable to the whims of a select few within the political and bureaucratic establishment. “Peace negotiations are essential for achieving lasting stability and shouldn't be relegated to bureaucratic manoeuvring devoid of democratic oversight,” the MPs said.
The MPs expressed concern that Parliament remains uninformed about the status of negotiations since the signing of the Framework Agreement. “It is imperative that the Government provides clarity and updates Parliament on the current status of the Naga peace process, including the details of the negotiations and developments since the signing of the Framework Agreement and the reasons for the perceived stagnation of the process,” they added.
The letter was appended by MPs Manoj Kumar, Sanjay Yadav, John Brittas, AA Rahim, P Sandosh Kumar, Sushmita Dev, Javed Ali Khan, Dr. Fauzia Khan, Priyanka Chaturvedi, MM Abdulla, Dr Kanimozhi NVN Somu, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, PP Suneer, V Sivadasan, PV Abdul Wahab, Haris Beeran, S Venkatesan, K Radhakrishnan, R Sachithanantham, and three other MPs whose names could not be deciphered from their signatures on the letter.
