Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 24
Member of Legislative Assembly from the Janata Dal (United) party Huska Sumi today said he had been left with no alternative but to file a defamation suit after a local daily published ‘a serious defamatory news item.’ The publication carried the name of Deo Nukhu, Huska’s colleague. Huska said he had asked Nukhu to tender an apology which he had failed to do so. “Hence, I was compelled to file a defamation suit as damage control,” he said in a release. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had earlier rubbished Huska’s charges on ‘equi-closeness’ and had reiterated his Government’s policy to continue with the said policy.
Wishing to set the record straight, Huska said when the Chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland had disapproved of ‘equi-closeness’ “in black and white” in assembly, as leader of the JDU he had to keep mum because the policy of the party is to ‘commit to peace process by giving free hands to the contending parties to hammer out an acceptable solution to the protracted Indo-Naga problem.”
“The NPF, being the dominant partner had every right to superimpose its policy upon its minor partners. Also, without seeing how the policy would be implemented it was wrong to criticize blindly.”
Taking a dig at Rio, the JDU legislator said the Chief Minister was meaning business when he had earlier mobilized his strength “By snatching off 7 Congress Legislators, 3 NDM Legislators and by forcing two JDU Legislators to join NPF unless they wanted to be dropped along with Huska Sumi.” The Centre gave one time grant of Rs 365 crore to be spent during the ‘honeymoon,’ he said. “The honeymoon climaxed with the visit of the former Prime Minister of India, Atal Vajpai Bihari in the later part of October 2003 who declared that ‘while acknowledging the uniqueness of Naga History, as far as the issue of the integration of Naga inhabited areas was concerned, there had to be consensus of opinion.’ ”
Saying he had called for a review of the equi-closeness policy during the first CCP meeting held after the former PM’s visit, Huska said his plea was not heeded to. In the CCP meeting conducted in January last, “I re-iterated my earlier demand,” he said. While noting that he had failed to muster the support of other members, he continued, “Nevertheless, the members who attended the meeting will be my witnesses.” He justified that he had placed his demand before the members because he was not supposed to endorse the policy blindly. Huska further said he had submitted a write-up before the DAN legislators on March 14 at Kohima, “but DAN leadership has collected my write-up circulated to the DAN legislators, compelling me to initiate motion expressing want of confidence on the floor of Assembly under Rule 139 (1) (a) (b) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Nagaland Assembly as an acid test. However, the Speaker, apprehending the sinister design being hatched by some DAN Legislators to disqualify me rejected my motion.”
He said there was no internal crisis within the party till a conspiracy was hatched “among the DAN Ministers to destroy me by financing the disgruntled elements in my party who finally staged a mass defection to NPF while I was away for my son’s admission to a college.”
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