Beleaguered Nagaland chief minister T.R. Zeliang who has been asked to step down from the chair by apex tribe organisations to own moral responsibility for the deaths of two youths and injuries to several in police firing , rejected the demands outright. Briefing media persons in the conference room of the Banquet Hall Tuesday afternoon, Zeliang said he found no reason to resign since the demand for his resignation was beyond the issue of 33% Women Reservation .
A determined T.R. Zeliang said that he can only step down if majority of the elected members say so or through a floor test and so long he enjoyed majority support, there was no need for him to resign.
To mounting criticisms of the cabinet decision to approach the prime minister to issue an ordinance to exempt Nagaland from Part IXA of the constitution on women reservation, Zeliang said the state government will also consult the people.
Further he said the state government had upheld the Constitution of India with regard to Article 371A through the State Assembly and taking a house resolution was nothing new.
He questioned the reason behind the ongoing bandh since the government had met all the demands by postponing the elections and nullifying the election process. He said despite having acceded to the demands, yet he was asked to resign. He said this was beyond the 33% women reservation and said there was politics in play. He however did not explain what was the politics behind being asked to resign.
Zeliang also clarified that the January 30, 2017 tri-partite agreement between the state government, JCC and NBCC contained a line that read “subject to cabinet decision and approval of SEC” which JCC later accused him of betrayal. He said since JCC had accepted 33% women reservation in the agreement, the cabinet decided to go ahead with the ULB elections where there was no opposition to it.
The chief minister said the problem arose in Dimapur where election was postponed and the government failed to understand what was the contention of the organisation (JCC).
He also said President’s Rule was not possible as it was not good for the people, when asked to respond to the demand made by the Congress which demanded PR in Nagaland. He said there could be some who wanted to have PR but it be cannot done as they pleased.
The chief minister also expressed grief and said he was sorry for the loss of two innocent lives. A Judicial Inquiry Committee (JIC) has been set up to find out the facts about the firing and those responsible will be punished. Zeliang also attempted to deflect criticisms by raising doubts about various organisations which had submitted demands on him and the governor asking him to resign. “Whom should we negotiate this matter with?” he asked.
He said Naga people should not be taken to such a direction. The chief minister said normal functioning of all government offices will resume after the consultative meeting on Wednesday. Zeliang said his government will not force the tribal hohos or ask them to pass resolution, but would try to convince them about the position of the government.
On speculations about his joining BJP, he said it was “beyond my dream”. Zeliang claimed that he neither spoke with BJP central or BJP state unit and the information was not true as there was not such need to merge with BJP since its central leaders had good relation with him.
On why he took such a belated step to address the worsening crisis, Zeliang said he did so for the sake of peace at the intervention of the NBCC.
Zeliang also alleged that some “vested interests” were behind the recent agitations as it involved a huge expenditure to feed several thousand people for the past one week or ten days. He mentioned that earlier, Rengma Hoho, Lotha Hoho, ENPO had stated they favoured women reservation but later back tracked. Zeliang said this proved that some political vested interests were behind the agitating group.
On the death of one person in Longkhim, CM said he received the report but was yet to ascertain the reason behind the incident.
R&B minister, Vikheho Swu added that reasoning and understanding was the need of the hour and that the good intention of the government was misunderstood. He said the CM’s apology should be the beginning point for better negotiation.
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