Says party president and leader of opposition should also be suspended
DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 17 (MExN): The Chizami A/C unit of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) today said that there has been “serious discrepancies and injustice” meted out to the former Secretary General and sitting Rajya Sabha MP, KG Kenye who was suspended by the party for his decision to support the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Parliament.
It further stated that the party president, Dr Shürhozelie Liezietsu and NPF legislature party leader, TR Zeliang should also be suspended going by the reasons cited by the party’s Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC).
“The entire drama has been staged for vested and vindictive personal motives and the Party is completely confused in this matter,” the unit stated in a letter to the NPF President. The letter was appended by the unit’s president, Hürüda Rahuyi; general secretary, Sapunyi Zholia; vice presidents, Povehu Chuzho and Welhipe Chiero.
Recalling the course of events in the party since 2017, when the NPF had decided to sever ties with the BJP, it questioned how then did the NPF President, Dr Shürhozelie Liezietsu, “secretly extend Letter of Support to the BJP Government in Manipur State and the BJP Government at the National level Central Governmen?”
“By supporting the BJP again through his letter, the NPF Party is a part and responsible for all the policies of the BJP Government both in Manipur and at the Centre. Hence, this Letter of Support addressed to Om Birla, Speaker Lok Sabha is a clear violation of the CEC Resolution of July 18, 2017,” it added.
Meanwhile quoting the NPF MP from Manipur Dr Lorho S Pfozes’ reply to his show cause notice, the unit stated that as per Lorho, the NPF President had communicated that “if the bill was introduced without change in the likes of CAB 2016 the MPs should oppose such a bill vehemently. However, if the Bill should present exemption clause during the introduction in the House, and as NPF in Manipur is a coalition partner in the government and has a different situation, we may work out decision accordingly. And so the decision to vote.”
It meanwhile observed that if violation of the January 31, 2019 CEC resolution is basis for suspension of NPF Members “then, the NPF Legislature Party Leader, TR Zeliang has also violated the stand of the Party which is clearly mentioned in Sl.No.5 of the same reply to the DAC from the Lok Sabha MP.”
The unit stated that Zeliang had “at some point given an interview with regards to the contentious Bill and has also given an opinion that if there are constitutional provisions for exemption of our areas of operation, then the NPF would support.”
It also pointed out that the party press bureau had welcomed the verbal declaration of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 56 at Aizawl “that a special clause would be incorporated into the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in order to protect the interest of the North East States particularly Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh”.
“In line with this NPF Party stand, the two NPF MPs voted in favour of the new rectified CAB,” it pointed out.
It therefore reasoned: “if (i) misguidance and (ii) violation of CEC Resolutions are the basis of suspending KG Kenye, then it is not him but President Dr Shürhozelie Liezietsu and Leader of Opposition TR Zeliang who are found to have first out rightly misguided and violated the Party’s Resolutions.”
The NPF Chizami unit demanded that the party DAC immediately suspended the two in order to “uphold justice within the NPF Party since no member is above the Party’s Constitution.”
