DIMAPUR, AUGUST 4 (MExN): Nagaland State’s MP to the Lok Sabha, Neiphiu Rio today asked the Government of India to work out a solution to the Indo-Naga issue before conduct of the forthcoming general assembly elections scheduled for February 2018 in Nagaland.
Speaking on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, the MP reiterated the need for an honourable and acceptable solution to the Indo-Naga issue.
He highlighted how the Government of India has over the decades tried to tackle the Naga issue, culminating in the latest Framework Agreement signed in 2015 between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM).
“The Indo-Naga political problem is more than eight decades old and precedes Indian independence. Twenty precious years have passed since the signing of ceasefire and political dialogue between the negotiating parties. I want to inform this August House that the Naga People’s Front (NPF) in its election manifesto had declared that it would pave the way for a settlement, if an honorable solution can come about,” the MP said during his speech.
He informed that for the first time, a Joint Legislators Forum (JLF) constituted by all 60 members of the 11th Nagaland Legislative Assembly was formed in 2009 which resolved to pave the way for an alternative arrangement acceptable to the people. Cutting across party lines the legislators jointly met the then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, opposition leaders and various national leaders in August 2012 in Delhi.
He added that the latest resolution adopted by the Legislators in the Nagaland Assembly was on May 27, 2017 reiterating the stand to pave the way for an honorable settlement.
Rio termed it pertinent to “voice the desire of the Naga people once again on the floor of Parliament, the cry of the people for a political settlement which will usher in genuine peace and development in the State.”
“I urge the Government of India to bring the political negotiations to its logical conclusion in a manner that is honorable, acceptable and wholesome, keeping in mind that the issue is political and the Nagas have a unique history,” he appealed.
