Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 7
The Congress said that the party is confident of winning the elections and delivering good governance to the people of Nagaland. The All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) Media and Publicity Department Chairperson M Pawan Khera made the confident posturing at a press conference in Dimapur on February 7.
“We are absolutely confident of winning the elections, forming a government and delivering good governance to the people. People are ready for a change. People want change and the change will be brought by the people of Nagaland along with the Congress party,” said Khera.
According to Khera, what the people need to differentiate is the “difference of intention” of the Indian National Congress vis-à-vis Nagaland along with that of the BJP and “its puppets, who currently ruling the state.” He held that the promises made by the Neiphiu Rio government in 2003 were only to buy time, while the people, in the process, paid the price.
While stating that the people of Nagaland share strong “emotional bond” with the Congress going back to the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, he said that it was Nehru’s decision which resulted in the merging of the then Naga Hills-Tuensang area to form Nagaland state. It was Rajiv Gandhi, who accepted the demand of the Naga Political Groups for political consultations at the highest level.
“Unfortunately, he was snatched away by fate just two days after he made this promise. But PV Narasimha Rao reiterated this resolve of the GoI and we carried it forward,” he said, while adding that the relationship that the Congress party shares with the people of Nagaland can never be taken lightly.
Taking a dig at the BJP, he said that the Nagaland PHED Minister requires certification from the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while the people of Nagaland have no access to regular water supply.
According to him, the intention of the Congress is “crystal clear” in the party manifesto.
“We are worried about the youth of the state. We are talking about employment for the youth. We are talking about libraries, water supply… The congress talks about these basic amenities that the people of Nagaland deserve and they should get because that is what we believe in. Governance to us means fulfilling promises. The Congress leaders are ready to be held accountable for every word in the manifesto.”
The intention, he added, is to help ease the interaction of the people with the bureaucracy, unlike the ruling coalition government, which he said, has failed the people.
On the Congress losing electoral ground over the past three elections, he said that the time is not form doing “a postmortem of the past.” He though added, “Of course, as a party we introspect, we do a lot of fact-finding and correct our mistakes and move on.”
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee President, K Therie vested hope in the Congress manifesto. He commented, “We are confident even the weakest candidate should win… if the people are able to digest the (Congress) election manifesto. And the power behind us is the INC which will come to power in 2024.”
