Moa Jamir
Anybody vaguely interested in politics or international relations would be familiar with the term, “In politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.”
Observers as well as laypersons in Nagaland recollected this with amusement when the suspension of the three times Chief Minister and the lone Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from the State, Neiphiu Rio, hit the news last week.
He was suspended from the primary and active membership of the party for alleged “anti-party activities” in an order signed by the Naga People's Front (NPF) President Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu on May 17.
People, however, were not shocked. They had long suspected such a move when he was issued two show cause notices last month. The rest was a matter of when.
The NPF Party, after years of infighting, started cracking its whip last month when the former Home Minister of the State, Imkong L Imchen, was suspended under similar circumstances. Media reports informed that show cause notices were also issued, among others, to three sitting MLAs - Noke Wangnao, Neiphrezo Keditsu, Namri Nchang.
Rio was charged with trying to ‘dislodge’ the current Chief Minister TR Zeliang for which he allegedly engineered a no- confidence motion in the floor of Nagaland State Assembly last year and his continued “anti-party” activities thereby “disrupting unity and the peaceful atmosphere within the party.”
The unfolding political drama then had kept the State riveted in the early part of 2015, which culminated into a so-called “opposition-less” government with Zeliang emerging as the winner.
While the suspension remains questionable, its timing is a political masterstroke. Rumor has it that the former chief minister was bidding his next move on the outcome of the Assam Assembly election result.
With the exit polls clearly indicating a historic win for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, the suspension is seen as a pre-emptive action by the NPF high command to thwart any attempt by Rio to gain a berth in Modi's cabinet thereby improving his political standing.
Many had considered Rio’s move from state to union politics in 2014 as political ambitions to get a ministerial berth at the centre for which he backed the Narendra Modi-led BJP campaign unequivocally. In hindsight, this miscalculation has led him to attempt to re-enter state politics.
Interestingly, his Suspension Order stated that, “he shall however continue to be bound by the whip of the Naga People's Front on the floor of Lok Sabha as per judicial decisions of the Apex Court,” basically binding him into the anti-defection law.
So, has the tussle for the political throne in Nagaland culminated? Not necessarily. As another popular saying goes, there are no permanent failures in politics, only temporary setbacks. Therefore, this could be a curtain raiser to the next season of ‘Game of Thrones’ in Nagaland.
Party hopping and defection over the years had been a favorite hobby of Naga politicians. Incidentally, the scope and various aspects of law were examined in great detail by a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in a case involving Naga politicians. Here, the apex court observed, “The object is to curb the evil of political defections motivated by lure of office or other similar considerations which endanger the foundations of our democracy.” (See Kihoto Hollohan v Zachillhu & Others, 1992).
Therefore, it is not surprising that friends-turn-bête noire Rio and Zeliang were both members of erstwhile Congress government led by SC Jamir. And before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Zeliang was considered Rio’s right hand man and became the 16th chief minister of Nagaland May 24, 2014 after overcoming on internal power struggle.
As the present DAN Government, under the leadership of Zeliang, prepares to celebrate its second anniversary, there is nothing to write home about, but at least it can confidently assert that the present dispensation survived two big internal tussles, and an award that fetes the same.
Rio’s next move is awaited with bated breath by the public. Will he swing enough MLAs to come under his fold to either form a government or dissolve this one for early elections? Will he ally directly or indirectly with the BJP for his next move? Will he form a new political party? How does the looming ‘political/national’ question fit into this spectrum?
Speculations remain high. So far he has not reacted to the suspension, but his response to the show cause notice by NPF on April 13 where he requested the NPF’s Disciplinary Action Committee to withdraw the notice for the “greater interest of understanding and unity of the NPF” could be taken as an indicator. His tentative return to the State on May 24, when he is expected to outline his next move, could open up another season of ‘Game of Thrones’ in Nagaland.
For any comments drop a line to moajamir@live.com
