‘NO SOLUTON AS ELECTIONS LIKELY TO BE ADVANCED TO DECEMBER 2022’
Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president K Theire claimed that the declaration of seat sharing arrangement between NDPP and BJP will only ensure that the Naga political issue will remain pending.
Therie said this while addressing a press conference at Congress Bhavan here on Thursday when he also lamented that despite taking forward the July 16 Parliamentary Committee meeting resolution on Naga political issue to Prime Minister’s office, NDPP and BJP have instead declared a seat sharing agreement.
Therie based his claim on a source who disclosed that BJP was planning to install its own party government in Nagaland based on the assurances of those “seat negotiating leaders” who agreed on a post-poll merger with BJP. He said a pre-poll merger was ruled out for the sake of preventing a negative vote backlash against the BJP.
He claimed that post-election, NDPP will merge with BJP to fulfil the saffron party’s dream of making” Nagaland as one of the first Christian State to be ruled by BJP”. He said if successful, BJP would showcase to the world and others that it was ruling a Christian society.
Therie alleged that for BJP forming a government in Nagaland after post-poll merger was more important than “settlement of the Naga political issue.”
He also said as for the government of India and the BJP, cease fire was a solution to the political problem.
He warned that if ceasefire rules and and agreed points were not implemented, then Nagas of Nagaland would continue to suffer unlike Nagas of other States. He claimed that the UDA government in Nagaland supported the Centre and Nagas outside Nagaland.
“Even after 25 years of peace process nothing has happened”. He asked that if a BJP government was installed in the post-poll scenario, “do you think they will resign and pave the way?” He said no BJP legislator would resign and the issue of resolving the Naga issue will die its own death.
Reacting to NDPP president Chingwang Konyak’s statement that the legislators would resign only after a final agreement is signed and BJP’s promise of “election for solution”, Therie accused NDPP and BJP of “betraying and lying to the people” and called upon Nagas to decide whether they wanted a BJP government or a secular government in the State.
Polls by December: Therie also claimed that the Assembly election in Nagaland was likely to be advanced from February-March 2023 to December 2022 in order to be held simultaneously along with Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
He claimed that a discussion was held in Delhi after which the chief minister returned to Nagaland and called all HoDs to complete project reports since election might be held in December 2020.
Therie, however, said Nagas were unaware and so not mentally prepared. He said on the other hand, the Congress party was more concerned about the future of Nagas while the UDA government was more concerned about enabling formation of BJP government at the cost of Nagas.
He remarked that the current strength of NDPP (42) in Nagaland Legislative Assembly was valueless since, despite a huge majority the NDPP was not inclined to form its own government without the BJP.
He said the negotiation of seat sharing took place through an understanding that BJP would win 15 out of the 20 it will contest while NDPP was likely to win 20 out of the 40 seats it will contest in the forthcoming election. With 20 NDPP and 15 BJP, he said the merger of NDPP with BJP will enable formation of BJP government with majority of 35 members in the house.
He said the seat sharing was agreed on this basis but there was some miscommunication within the saffron parry as party rank and file were unaware of the arrangement.
Therie said after central BJP leaders gave the nod for the planned merger of| NDPP, those BJP leaders who were against the seat sharing were compelled to take a U-turn by supporting the 40 (NDPP):20 (BJP) arrangement.
Rio dividing Nagaland: Therie also accused chief minister Neiphiu Rio of dividing Nagaland along tribal and religious lines and creating factions while all MLAs chose to remain silent.
He warned that if this trend was not stopped, then a generation would be lost and Nagaland faces imminent threat of being split into four/five regions such as – Nagaland Frontier State, CNTC State, Tenyimia State or as NNC leader late Phizo coined- autonomous council and “Nagaland”.
In an effort to raise emotive issue, Therie said his party’s concern over proposed merger of NDPP with BJP in the next poll is because BJP is against Christian faith, ideology and idea of Congress which believes in secularism.
He predicted that poll announcement for assembly election in Nagaland will be made in October if elections were to held in December 2022.
He urged Nagas to wake up and salvage Nagaland since money and power alone will not help build the state.
The NPCC chief assured that Congress would represent the voice of people and contest in all the 60 seats in the forthcoming polls.
Rs 15,620 cr loan: Therie said the state government has pending loans totalling Rs 15,620 crore for which capital and interests are to be paid but that the state government was trying to hide it.
In order to avoid financial embargo, Therie alleged that the state government was diverting funds from one head to another but that truth will be exposed.
He said despite alleged financial mismanagement, the Finance Commission did not award less funds but as per a State’s requirement. However due to mismanagement the state was unable to pay salaries to its employees.