MP Tokheho Yepthomi addresses an event on December 22, 2022. (Image Courtesy: @TokhehoYepthomi/X)
Dimapur, January 21 (MExN): A day after the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) distanced itself from purported remarks made by the Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Tokheho Yepthomi regarding Article 371(A), he clarified today that the view was personal, but reiterated his stance.
“The view is only my personal and does not reflect those of the NDPP or its leadership,” he stated.
Yepthomi, however, maintained that Article 371(A) does impedes development in the State.
“For those who are of the opinion that Article 371(A) in no way impedes the development of our State and that corruption is the only cause of our State’s inability to develop then corruption has to stop first and foremost with the voter,” he contended.
The NDPP’s Lok Sabha MP also listed four reasons to support his contention.
At the outset, he pointed out the North-East states have either upgraded their airports to international standards or those without one before now have “fully functional modern airports that are capable of handling international flights.”
However, he pointed out that Nagaland’s lone airport in Dimapur had been “encroached by our own people” completely ruling out any expansion or upgradation of the airport at par with most modern airports around the country.
Moreover, the district administration over the years has just stood as mere spectator to the land encroachments and this is also a primary reason why the State Government has for years rightly pursued an alternate airport in Kohima, he maintained.
Yepthomi further noted that the Prime Minister virtually inaugurated the project for upgradation to 508 railway stations across India into world class stations in India August 6, 2023.
The Dimapur Railway station alone was given Rs 208 crore for the station development, he claimed.
However, he asserted that the ‘ugly head of land encroachers’ extend even to the railway land in Dimapur and a significant portion of the railway land has been encroached upon by ‘our own people.’
The District Administration has never made an attempt to remove these encroachments, with all citing Article 371(A), he alleged.
Meanwhile, the MP also maintained that Assam is extracting oil from 28 oilfields from Assam-Nagaland border and the Government of India has upgraded four refineries: Numaligarh - 3 MMT to 9 MMT (Million Metric Tons); Digboi 0.50 MMT to 1 MMT ; Guwahati 1 MMT to 2 MMT ; and New Bagaigaon 2.35 MMT to 5 MMT.
The total production was 6.85 MMT before upgradation generating Rs 18,000 crore for Assam in the last 10 years, he claimed. After the upgradation of oil refineries, the capacity has more than doubled to 17 MMT which will roughly generate approximately Rs 44, 000 crore in ten years, he estimated.
On the contrary, Yepthomi stated, the people of Nagaland have citied Article 371(A) and not allowed extraction of oil because land and its resources belong to the people.
“Will we extract oil when the world has not use of it because most of the world is now moving to clean and renewable sources of energy,” he posed rhetorically.
For the lone LS MP from Nagaland, the Dimapur – Kohima 4 lane project is the biggest example of the “misuse of Article 371(A).”
“The government had to negotiate with every single landowner from Dimapur to Kohima for land acquisition and it took nearly 10 years to just acquire the land,” he claimed.
If it was in other states, the need of public would have prevailed over the ‘want of one’ and the land acquisition for public infrastructure is never a problem as the Government of the day does not have to negotiate and convince with every person, he added.
Assam is the best example where landowner issues are never a cause of impediment for public infrastructure development by the Government, he added.
Yepthomi further clarified that he had not made any comment on the “ongoing political negotiation in relation to Article 371(A) nor have I said to dilute article 371(A) when negotiations are at a crucial stage.:
My statement was to provoke the minds of fellow citizens in respect of the misuse of Article 371(A) in matters of development activities, he added.
As per an NDPP press release, during a recent programme held in Chümoukedima, Yepthomi purportedly stated, “I wish the GoI do away with Article 371(A)”.
“The NDPP stands firm in our commitment to protect the rights and privileges of the people of Nagaland by upholding and safeguarding all the provisions under Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India,” it stated, while disowning its MP’s statement.
It is not the first time, Yepthomi has shared similar stance on the issue. On January 3, he opined that Nagaland is moving ‘towards dystopia’ and stated: “Whilst our neighbours make economic progress at blistering pace, we Nagas have stifled development on the pretext of Article 371 (A) and the political negotiations.”
