CM’s statement on NH, NMA taken out of context, says NDPP

CM’s statement on NH, NMA  taken out of context, says NDPP

CM’s statement on NH, NMA taken out of context, says NDPP

‘CM wants unity amongst apex bodies like Naga Hoho and NMA’

 

DIMAPUR, AUGUST 13 (MExN): The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) today said that Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio’s statements with regard to the Naga Hoho (NH) and the Naga Mother’s Association (NMA) have been taken out of context. 


The NH and NMA had in a joint statement on August 11 claimed that the CM said “there is no more Naga Hoho and NMA to represent the voice of the people and also FNR is no more active and the people have lost confidence. So there is no apex organisation to work for Naga peace process.”


“The statement of the NH and the NMA seems to have missed the context in which the Chief Minister had made mention of the two organisations and rightly so too since neither the NH nor the NMA were present in the meeting where this issue was deliberated,” a press release from the NDPP media and communication committee stated. 


The NDPP termed it unfortunate that the two organisations have based their statement on “hearsay and on the words of the people who have conveyed this to them.” 


“It was perhaps with ill intention that the person or persons who have misled the two organisations into believing that the Chief Minister has no regard for them,” the NDPP stated.


The party said it would have been more prudent if the members of the two organisations met with the CM and discussed their concerns “instead of bringing out a statement based on facts that had not appeared in the public domain and without ascertaining in what context those statements were made.”


The NDPP said that at present some tribal hohos and organisations have already disassociated from the NMA and the NH due to various reasons and therefore it is the call of Chief Minister and the PDA government that past differences be put aside by all tribes and that the Civil Society Organisations come together under the spirit of unity and oneness.


It meanwhile informed that during the August 7 meeting of the Joint Legislators Forum (JLF), the CM had stressed on the need to bring about unity especially amongst the apex bodies representing the people like the Naga Hoho and the NMA. 
“It is his belief that we can overcome all challenges and hurdles towards our quest for genuine peace through an honourable political solution and that we strengthen the peace process through our unity. It is also the call of the CM and the PDA government that in the greater interest of the Nagas and the future generations, an olive branch should be extended by these two apex bodies to the other tribal organisations in order to bring them back into their fold and rebuild the NH & NMA to the stature it once held in the society,” the NDPP said. 


It expressed hope that leaders of the two organizations, “all of who are meant to carry the mandate of their respective tribal hohos,” would acknowledge this appeal and for unity in a positive manner. It also called for apex organisations to take up a more responsible and mature approach and meet across the table. 


“The NDPP led PDA is always for unity and we are ready to extend all co-operation towards the unity of our people,” the party asserted. 

 

‘Trust reposed on NLA members should not be abused’
It meanwhile expressed concern that details of the discussions during the closed door meeting “have been revealed to the public thus disregarding the trust and confidence reposed by the members present at the meeting on one another.”


The NDPP termed it worrying that “if such precedence is created then in the future, members may hesitate to speak freely with the doubt that such would be leaked out beyond the confines of the room.”


It is therefore necessary, the party pointed out, “that the trust reposed on members attending a closed-door meeting should not be abused.”


The August 7 meeting, it informed, involved all 60 members of the NLA “wherein many important matters were discussed.” 


“The CM and the members present deliberated on various issues pertaining to the state and its people which was not to be taken to the public domain but was for the consumption of those present in the meeting. The result of the deliberations resulted in the adoption of resolutions which was made public through the local media,” it added.