Says refrained from Nov 27 meeting respecting the SIT
Tuensang, November 29 (MExN): The Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU) today concluded that the press statement of the Directorate of Higher Education published on November 29 is “directly against the decision of the Cabinet and an attempt to prejudice the SIT investigation process.”
The union expressed surprise to see the department “clarifying and justifying their stand at this hour” when the department itself is under investigation by the SIT constituted by the Cabinet to probe against the “misuse of scholarship.”
It was also “appalled” by the Director’s statement that “the suspicion of misuse of the money should be removed from your mind.”
ENCSU in a statement from its president, M Longre Chang and general secretary, Wangnei C Jessuhu questioned how she could make such “callous” statement “when the Cabinet in its meeting had admitted in black and white about the misuse of scholarship 2016-17 and subsequently constituted the SIT to probe into the matter.”
The department should therefore refrain from “justifying and unconvincing statement time and again,” but “wait patiently for the SIT report till the final judgement is arrived at,” it added.
Further, ENCSU noted that the department is not only accountable to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, but also the thousands of innocent Naga students.
It meanwhile wondered what made the department “to unnecessarily drag the Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) for not attending the joint meeting called by the Nagaland University Students’ Union (NUSU) on November 27, 2017 in the print media when it has not invited ENSF and ENCSU officially but through sudden phone calls only.”
The students’ body stated “it is not the obligation of the Federation to attend such meetings,” while also informing that the ENCSU had intentionally refrained from the said meeting respecting the SIT constituted by the Cabinet.
The ENCSU also anticipated the representative(s) from the Cabinet at the November 30, 2017 meeting convened by the Secretary, Higher Education since the meeting is a directive from the Chief Minister.
“If the Government and the Department fail to respond positively on 30-11-2017, the Union will be left with no option but to resume our temporarily suspended agitation right away,” it cautioned.
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