‘NPF has not been sincere to their commitment’

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Tokheho Yepthomi today stated that the Naga People’s Front (NPF) had promised, in 2003, to bring solution to the Naga political problem; but that in the last 11 years, the Chief Minister of Nagaland was not in position to tell the people about the progress of the ongoing political dialogue.

Addressing a gathering during the visit of Rahul Gandhi to Kohima, for the election campaign for INC candidate, KV Pusa, the CLP leader informed that in the recently concluded assembly session, he (Rio) admitted that he is only a facilitator and not a party to the dialogue.

Yepthomi continued that the Home Minister, G. Kaito also told the assembly session that there had been 68 talks between the GoI and Naga Political Groups, wherein he also stated that the state government does not know anything about the progress of the ongoing dialogue. Tokheho said this shows that the DAN has not been sincere to their commitment.

He also said that the DAN government had passed 33% women reservation in 2006 and that when election was due in 2009, they withheld the municipal and town council elections. Then, on the pretext of complaint from the tribal hohos, he said, the government had withheld the election. As a result of which, women groups had gone to the court and the case is pending in the Supreme Court, he added.

Tokheho further recalled that in 2003, the GoI had sanctioned a large amount of money for construction of four lane road from Dimapur to Kohima but lamented that the same is yet to start; whereas other northeastern states like Meghalaya are about to complete 4 laning construction from Guwahati to Shillong.

He said that before the last general elections in Nagaland, the state government had upgraded middle schools to high schools, adding that just before the election they had upgraded 147 schools and when election got over, they had derecognized 129 schools.

The CLP leader stated that the government has not paid the salary of SSA teachers for the last 4 months and cited the agitation of the teachers in front of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) secretariat complex.

Pointing to inconsistencies regarding the NPF members in the Lok Sabha, Tokheho stated “we should go to the nook and corner and tell the people what they have been going in the last 11 years.”

He also alleged that there has been corruption and scam under the NPF, for which the NPCC had published a booklet entitled “11 years misrule of NPF government under the leadership of Neiphiu Rio.”