Dimapur, June 16 (MExN): The Naga People’s Front (NPF) on Wednesday accused the State government of attempting to dodge direct and pertinent questions put up by the NPF Legislature Wing and the NPF Central Office.
The NPF party asked whether the government’s silence was because it felt that the questions raised by the opposition party “deserves no answers or they do not dare answer them as that would disprove their so called ‘transparent’ government theory.”
It may be mentioned that earlier, in a series of press releases, the NPFLP had questioned the government on various aspects of its COVID-19 management.
On Wednesday, the Party once again alleged that while the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed utilization of 60% of the grants received under State Disaster Response Fund for providing relief to COVID patients and also providing ex-gratia grant to the COVID related deceased family, “nothing on the ground is being implemented.”
It accused the government of being nonchalant even when many families have lost their near and dear ones in the pandemic.
“Even on the issue of absence of Doctors and Nurses in Community Health Centres (CHC) and Primary Health Centres (PHC), the government remains mute and no positive action has been taken nor explanation given for such lapses,” the NPF stated.
Further, it pointed out that providing machineries for hospitals but having no technical personnel on the ground to run those machines is self-defeating.
Immediate posting of Doctors and nurses and also technical persons to the Health Centres should be taken up on priority as an empty hospital cannot help the people in their fight against this pandemic, it added.
The Party also said that the PDA government has failed to answer with clarity as to how the 20% pro-rata cut from the entire non-developmental fund has been utilized. While the pro-rata cut was initially for purchase of vaccine, in their clarification it is seen that from the estimated 47.69 crores saved from 20% pro-rata cut, only 7.45 crores have been spent on procuring vaccine, the NPF observed.
On the matter of COVID cess on petroleum products, it said that the revenue figure given at 13.64 crores is ‘unrealistic’. “Not to mention the vehicles from other states passing through Nagaland, taking only the number of vehicles in the State and daily average fuel consumption, the revenue from cess should exceed 13.64 crores by more than 100 percent,” it said.
The NPF stated that its agenda was not to keep pointing fingers at the ruling party just for the sake of being in the opposition, but that the questions are being raised as it has “serious concern for the general public…”
Similarly, it asserted that the government’s agenda should not be “to accumulate wealth while the people suffer in ignorance.”
It also decried the call for the ruling bench and the opposition to work in unity during these unprecedented times, stating the opposition members “have never been taken on board in any of the decision making, be it at the state level or the district level.”
“All the tall claims of achievement and transparency made are only on paper and nothing in reality and on the ground,” it concluded.
.JPG)
