Bendang Aier
Of late, the burning issue in the political circles of Nagaland, as is apparent in the local media reports in the last few days, is the speculation of the return of SC Jamir, Governor of Goa to Nagaland politics. Though the other political parties in the State have maintained a studied silence on this speculation, the Indian National Congress party in the State seem to have been sharply divided on this issue even as the PCC has maintained that it is only a minority few which is creating unnecessary flutters for their own vested interests rather than the interest of the party.
Indeed, there is a perceptible wave in almost all the districts of Nagaland in favour of the Congress party. But unfortunately, the present leadership has not been able to capitalize on this. Far from capitalizing, the party appears to have fragmented in the last few years with several leaders indulging in one-upmanship like the proverbial crabs pulling each other down. There are camps within the different Congress groups in the State, and instead of facing the forthcoming elections as a team, the party is approaching the people as many groups with each of these groups projecting a leader or another! In other words, there is no cohesion or unity worth the name. The million dollar question here is whether the Congress party, with all its internal bickering, can face the elections and the people successfully under the present leadership.
There is a crop of leaders in the party who were, and would be, threatened if at all Jamir returns back to the State. These Congress leaders are understandably opposing Jamir’s return so that their dreams of occupying the Chair – if the Congress gets into any position to form the next Government – do not elude them. It is an acknowledged fact that the present leadership of the party, and also the want-to-be leaders in the State, have utterly failed to live up to the expectations of the people. They have also failed miserably to deliver their many promises to the people thereby destroying their credibility in the eyes of the discerning public.
The speculation that SC Jamir is returning to State politics has been doing the rounds for quite some months now. To be very fair to the Congress party, it is quite possible that Jamir’s return could change the fortunes of the party since Jamir has influence in several districts such as Mokokchung, erstwhile Tuensang and Mon. He would also put to rest the present tussle for leadership within the Congress party since he literally towers over all the present crop of Congress leaders in personality, experience and political acumen – they would all fall in line, even though reluctantly, if at all he decides to return to the State. “IF” is the operative word here. Otherwise, consider these facts:
1. Jamir was more or less unceremoniously voted out of the post of the Congress legislature Party Leader a few days after the electoral debacle in February 2003 and the present CLP Leader I. Imkong replaced him;
2. Congress High Command did not pay much attention to the many allegations made by Jamir that the defeat of the Congress party in the 2003 elections was because of the massive interference of the NSCN (IM) and not a single word was raised by the then Opposition Congress in the Parliament till the 2003 year-end coup in Arunachal Pradesh when the ousted Mukut Mithi raised a hue and cry that the NSCN (IM) hand was involved in the change of guards in the State;
3. The NSCN (IM) has been propagating that Jamir is the main obstacle to the Naga peace process and that his departure from the political arena would expedite the negotiations. Accordingly, he was “promoted” to the gubernatorial post of Goa in July 2004. (Though how far the talks have progressed after 2004 is there for all to see).
The rest is, though clichéd, history. And since then, have there been any extenuating circumstances that have warranted Jamir’s return? On the contrary, Jamir’s retention in Goa would be better for the Congress party in Nagaland.
Firstly, his bete noire and present Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been reportedly renewing all his contacts at the AICC level to “invite” him back to the Congress. Now, would Rio, who has been placed on record that the Jamir era is over, be willing to join forces with the latter, or vice versa?
Secondly, CLP Leader Imkong has made it clear in his various press conferences that he would be a contender for the top slot if and when the Congress is voted back to power. Would he then, welcome Jamir with open arms and be eclipsed yet once again?
Thirdly, Jamir’s former blue-eyed boy turned foe K. Therie is known to be “flirting” with the Congress party and even senior Congress leader KL Chishi has disclosed that Therie is in the process of being re-admitted to the Congress fold. Would Therie too, with all the venom he had spurted out against Jamir in the media and the Assembly after the 2003 victory, eat crow and tolerate Jamir’s second coming, as it were?
Fourthly, would KL Chishi, former Chief Minister and professed contender for the Chief Ministership, accept Jamir’s leadership? He is a force to be reckoned with, and it is very unlikely that he would be satisfied toeing the line, anyone’s line: He would rather make tracks than follow the trodden path!
Fifthly, is the Congress party in Nagaland so Jamir-centric that it cannot face the people without him? This reflects poorly on the Congress leaders in the State.
Common sense would have it that the best option for the Congress party now after remaining in the Opposition for nearly five years, should first set its house in order, put up a united front and harvest the Congress wave that it rightly flatters itself is sweeping over the hills of Nagaland.
Again, for the sake of academic discussion, report of some Congress leaders apprehending the “NSCN (IM) backlash” if Jamir returns to the State raises some pertinent issues:
1. Is the sole agenda of the NSCN (IM) leadership ouster/dethroning of SC Jamir?
2. Has the NSCN (IM) accepted the Constitution of India that it will participate, directly or indirectly, under the elections held under the Peoples’ Representation Act?
3. Are the claims of the Congress party that the NSCN (IM) was responsible for its electoral debacle in 2003 true? If so, the allegation that the present DAN Government was propped up by the NSCN (IM) would also be true!
4. Has the Congress party, which prides itself to be the world’s largest democratic party, reduced to such a position that it now seeks the mandate of the NSCN (IM) rather than the mandate of the electorate?
5. Will the NSCN (IM), rather than the party functionaries or the High Command, as national parties call their national leaders, decide who should lead the Congress party in the State, or who its candidates should be?
Both the Congress party and the NSCN (IM) would have to do some serious soul searching. As a national political party, the very essence of the Congress party is to seek the mandate of the electorate and translate its programmes and policies into reality. To do this, it has to decide who its leader and candidates would be to lead it to the electoral battlefront. However, the Congress party in the State appears to have bent backward and is giving in without being asked, to the NSCN (IM) and the latter could very well decide whether Jamir should come back to the State or not!
If newspaper reports are to be believed, politicians across the State, cutting across party lines, would be making a bee-line to the Congress Bhawan for party ticket on the eve of the 2008 elections. But going by the same reports, there seem to be some Congress leaders who would prefer to bring in extraneous elements – the NSCN factions being these elements in the Indian electoral firmament – to the whole process regardless of the detrimental effects it would have on all the parties concerned. In the larger scheme of things, it would be most unfortunate to drag into the messy political process forces such as the NSCN who are espousing the cause of the Nagas. At least, Nagas should get something better than what they have and this would be possible if the NSCN factions negotiate and bargain with the Government of India rather than directly or indirectly in the electioneering process. After all, State politicians cannot be expected or faulted for that matter to bring the Naga people what they already have – Statehood. But it is through diplomatic negotiations by the NSCN factions with the Government of India that Nagas can expect a better political arrangement than what we have now. Congress leaders, on their part, would be doing great harm to the interests of the Naga people if they were to drag in the NSCN faction or factions into the election process because of the above-mentioned reasons. It would undermine the Naga struggle for Sovereignty. No political party, if it is really concerned for the welfare of the Naga people, should even think of aligning with the Naga underground groups for some temporary political mileage since it would negate and even derail the ongoing political and peace process.
The NSCN too, on its part, should not allow itself to be used by anyone to settle petty political scores or gain political brownie points. The high sounding rhetoric that the NSCN has been harping before the people all these years would be proved hollow if it were to support or go against any political party in the forthcoming Indian elections. The NSCN (IM) especially has been maintaining a conspicuous silence over the allegations that it toppled the Congress apple-cart in 2003 elections, but there have been rumours doing the rounds on the quiet. These rumours have been strengthened by the allegations raised by its bitter rival NSCN (K) in the local media.
All said and done, the Congress should stand by its ideologies and principles while the NSCN factions too stand by its “national principles.” After all, weren’t we taught to “render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”? Let the Congress and other political parties in the State do what they are supposed to, and let the NSCN factions or the FGN/Federal continue what they profess to – struggle for Naga sovereignty.
Just as one cannot have one’s cake and eat it too, one cannot sail in two boats at a time.
