It appears that the one-day session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly convened on September 15 would be mainly to fulfill the constitutional obligation rather than discussing several issues prevailing in Nagaland. Assembly Speaker Kiyanilie Peseyie,when asked whether the session could have been extended said in a lighter vein “ Everyone is happy that we’ll have only one day session” He also said the reason was that there was little business set on the agenda .
“We want to have longer session, but when there is no government business, we can’t just extend the session” he said. Assembly Secretary A.E Lotha pointed out that it was not the first time that the house would meet just for one day. He recalled that the last winter session in December 2010 was also a one-day session. Lotha disclosed that the Assembly Secretariat had received 18 starred questions and six unstarred question for the coming session.
He said these were “very less” when compared with the past, when the Assembly Secretariat received questions ranging from 100 to 200 in any assembly session. Lotha however opined that one of the factors could be the impact of the RTI Act, as any one can obtain information under it. Veteran NPF leader and president of the party Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu who is also the Minister of Urban Development and Higher Education said that the duration of the assembly session depended on the government business.
He however said that the Speaker has the discretion even extend the assembly session if the opposition demanded it on important issues. Veteran Naga politician and former chief minister and governor Dr S.C.Jamir when contacted said regretted that the session was only to fulfill a constitutional obligation. Jamir felt it could have been longer or at least for a week since there were many issues confronting the state which could have been taken up for discussed and debated.
He cited the issues such as recent split in the NSCN(K), Reconciliation process under the initiative of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), the process for formation of a national government by the different groups of Naga national workers, ongoing Naga political talks and other important issues. Jamir lamented that the scheduled one day assembly session was a reflection of the performance and lack of seriousness of the members since the Business Advisory Committee comprised of members from both the ruling and opposition.
He said charges or counter-charges in the media was a different issue while it was important that such issues be thoroughly debated on the floor of the house. Also asked for her comment, Mrs Abei-ii Meru, President Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) expressed surprise at the one-day session. “Just for one day?” she asked while pointed out that there were many issues confronting the state.
She said all these should have been thoroughly discussed and debated instead of resorting to ‘paper war’. Mrs Abei-ii said the NMA had a lot of expectation from the elected leaders whether ruling or opposition. She said when leaders were given mandate by their people, it was pertinent that they discuss problems faced by their people and not only when there was firing. Abei-ii said elected members should reason and debate issues for people’s benefit.
Naga Hoho,which claimed to be the apex Naga organization, when contacted refused to comment saying it was the prerogative of the legislative assembly. On the other hand, the CLPL Leader, Tokheho Yepthomi could not be contacted.
For More Updates, follow us on
and
RELATED POSTS
View all
