1. This is with reference to an article on “Democracy under siege in the State of Nagaland” by Theja Therieh, Kohima, which appeared in local newspapers on 5th April, 2013.
2. The party agree that the number of ruling party members holding offices of Parliamentary Secretaries & Advisers is on the higher side, which has been necessitated by the bounty of the election result. At the same time, we have to admit that it is a reflection of peoples’ wishes and expectations, which, in a democracy, is also a vital input for policy decisions. To be very frank, the situations would not have been any different, even if the Congress or any other parties had received a similar land-slide victory. There is a saying which goes: “In democracy, the people get the government they deserve”. The elected representatives are the mirror of the people who elected them. Their aspirations and expectations are a reflection of the people they represent. In a way, this is also one way of sharing the duties and responsibilities of the Government amongst the ruling legislators. After all, parliamentary democracy is also supposed to be participative governance through collective responsibility.
3. As regards the so-called concentration of so many portfolios in the hands of the Chief Minister, this is far from true. It may be recalled that in the wake of downsizing of the Ministry, necessitated by Constitutional amendment in the year 2003, the Government had to appoint several Parliamentary Secretaries to share the duties and responsibilities of the government. Initially, the Parliamentary Secretaries were attached to the Cabinet Ministers. But after a few months, all the Parliamentary Secretaries submitted a joint petition to the Chief Minister, demanding that all Parliamentary Secretaries may be made to work only under the Chief Minister, as they found it difficult to work under the Cabinet Ministers. This was dully discussed and agreed collectively by the Cabinet. That was how all Parliamentary Secretaries were made to work under the Chief Minister only. This only shows that the present Chief Minister is large hearted, generous, accommodating and approachable. He delegates maximum powers and responsibility, as permissible under the rules, to the Parliamentary Secretaries. That is why the Parliamentary Secretaries have expressed their desire to function under the Chief Minister. Therefore, this generosity and large heartedness of the Chief Minister should not be interpreted as concentration of power in his hands. It is rather to be seen as the best example of shared power and responsibilities by way of maximum delegations.
4. This communiqué is issued to make the people understand the circumstances under which the DAN Ministries have been carrying out its responsibilities and also to make our functioning transparent to the public. At the same time, the NPF appreciates healthy and constructive deliberations by all sections of the people and individuals, because it is through debate and discussion, under a spirit of democracy that the delivery mechanisms will improve and democracy will ultimately be strengthened.
Issued by
NPF Press & Media Bureau
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