DIMAPUR, APRIL 12 (MExN): The Ao Senden today stated that the name of the Naga Mothers Association (NMA) is being “abused by a few individuals to further their hidden agenda which is nothing short of insulting the 3 lives lost in 2017 during the people's movement against the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 which has now been repealed.”
A press release from Ao Senden President, Chubawati Longchar and Assistant General Secretary, Arentemjen Jamir said that it has been “closely observing the subversive maneuverings of a handful of elitist individuals with vested interests” ever since the Government of Nagaland on March 28, 2023 resolved to repeal the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 in toto.
The Ao Senden appreciated the Government of Nagaland for “doing the right thing at the right time by listening to the voice of the people and repealing the Act.
It said there was apprehension that if the state government conducted the ULB election as scheduled, another volatile situation like that of 2017 would have been repeated. It further made clear that the tribal hohos, including the Ao Senden, are not against the conduct of elections to the ULBs in Nagaland. “It is simply that any Act that the government proposes to implement must not be against the interest and well being of the people in general, and must not infringe on Article 371A in the context of Nagaland state,” the Ao Senden said.
It asked the Nagaland State Government to enact a fresh Act to govern the ULBs in Nagaland at the earliest, the draft of which must be consulted with the tribal hohos before it is introduced in the Assembly.
“Nagaland is a tribal state that was created under unique political circumstances and with special political considerations. As such, we invite the leaders of PUCL and other elitist individuals sitting in their ivory towers to come and spend some time in Nagaland and get themselves educated about the culture, traditions and customary practices of the Nagas, before getting entangled in fruitless litigation,” the Ao Senden stated.
