DIMAPUR, JANUARY 22 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed shock at the statement made by NDPP Member of Parliament, TokhehoYepthomi, advocating for the revocation of Article 371(A), and condemned it in the “strongest possible terms.”
“Moreover, his subsequent rejoinder does not offer an iota of merit, in terms of course correction necessitated by his original statement, leading one to wonder as to whether the initiative was at all about course correction or one aimed at adding salt to injury,” a press release from the NPCC Communications Department stated.
It reminded the MP that Article 371(A) not only accords special category status to Nagaland as a state, but also serves as an acknowledgement, as well as a constant reminder to all concerned about the uniqueness of the history of the Nagas as a people.
“We fail to see any justification that could be considered as even minutely justification enough for the atrociously ill advised take of the lawmaker, and we ardently hope that he somehow finds his way back to good sense and take back his words with an unconditional apology to the people of Nagaland,” it said.
It further noted that the NDPP's reaction towards this development orchestrated by its MP “isn't at all helpful either.” “It's a textbook lesson in political dereliction, coming from a place of utter ideological bankruptcy. It needs to understand that the office that the MP holds, and the issue at hand, are way too serious and consequential to be brushed aside simply by disowning it,” the Congress said.
It said that the “NDPP's ‘anything for power’ ideology has turned it into a pliable agent of the RSS/BJP's grand majoritarian scheme for uniformity & singularity across the Nation, and that it cannot even muster enough moral agency to censure and mete out proportionate disciplinary action against its MP for so blatantly taking a stand against the hard fought rights of the people of Nagaland.”
The NPCC meanwhile asserted that it would “fight tooth and nail for the preservation of the rights of the citizens of Nagaland as enshrined under Article 371 (A), and will continue to oppose any assault on the plurality and diversity of our Nation in general.”
