KOHIMA, JUNE 28 (MExN): The Naga People’s Front (NPF) has demanded one Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay to withdraw the PIL from the Court against the coverage of ILP coverage to Dimapur District.
“Ashwini should know that, out of 29 states in India, Nagaland is the only state to have been created out of political agreement and hence a special provision was also inserted in the form of Article 371 (A),” stated a press statement issued by NPF Press Bureau on Friday.
“Ashwini should educate himself that British has introduced Bengal Eastern Frontal Regulation 1873 with an objective to protect the rights of the Naga people, which has been legitimately inherited, recognized and implemented from the day one when the state of Nagaland was created,” the statement emphasized.
The NPF maintained that as Dimapur district is legitimately under Nagaland state, coverage of implementing ILP to Dimapur district is the prerogative of the Naga people and Nagas have every right to do so. Since regulation of ILP is an offshoot of political agreement, it cannot be interpreted or decided in the court of law and even if some addition or modification in the BEFR is necessitated, it should be done only through politically and not through the court.
The fact that non-Nagas mastering courage to file the PIL “going against the implementation of the ILP itself is a threat for the identity of the Naga people,” it added. Reiterating its stand for the protection of the Naga people, its culture, tradition and the indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, the NPF has asked the PDA Government “to seriously view the situation and pay attention before it goes out of proportion.”
