Cock symbol will be ours: CM

Nagaland chief minister, T.R. Zeliang was confident that he and NPF president, Neiphiu Rio will retain the NPF cock symbol, claiming majority support on all fronts including the NPF legislators, CEC members, central office bearers and active members. Addressing the consultative meeting of the NPF legislators, CEC, all frontal and divisional office bearers at hotel Vivor, Kohima, Zeliang said “there are no two opinions or doubt in this regard. Majority group should get the Cock symbol. We will win and Cock symbol will be allotted to us”. 

Clarifying the October 17 “ECI interim order”, Zeliang appealed to the party men and women not to be confused with rumours and false propaganda perpetrated by the opponents, but to remain steadfast with the party and prepare for 2018 election with Cock symbol.

He also assured the party workers that everything was taking place according to law and that there was nothing to worry about, since the ongoing tussle within the NPF party would be settled in due course of time. Zeliang further maintained that since the majority legislators got the mandate of the people, after being elected under the NPF ticket, there was no question of his leadership being illegitimate.  

“How can nine MLAs who are in support of Dr. Shürhozelie appoint Yitachu as Whip and Azo Nienu as NPF legislature party leader when 37 out of 47 NPF legislators are with us? It is a sheer mockery”, he added.

Zeliang further alleged that the nine MLAs were pressurizing the speaker to disqualify all the 36 MLAs supporting him, with threat and intimidation. 

With regard to the alleged threat that the nine MLAs would impeach the speaker if the latter failed to disqualify the 36 legislators, Zeliang wondered “how can only nine members impeach the speaker when the Speaker was elected by 60 members of the house”.

Instead, he said that the nine MLAs should be disqualified for defying their own whip and for failing to be present in the house during the July 19 floor test.

Zeliang reminded his rivals that numbers cannot be manipulated in the court of the Election Commission. “What type of majority will they prove before the ECI? For us we had General Convention already where majority of the party men and women had exhibited their support to us. So what type of General Convention will Dr. Shürhozelie and his group convene again?” Zeliang said.

NPF party MLAs headed by NPF president Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu have been served with a one-week deadline to join hands with the majority NPF party, led by Neiphiu Rio. The ultimatum was among several resolutions adopted during the consultative meeting of the NPF party headed by Neiphiu Rio.

The house also urged upon the Speaker to immediately expedite disciplinary and legal action(s) against NPF MLAs (Dr. Shürhozelie) who had defied party whip, in accordance with anti-defection rules.

The resolution jointly signed by NPF president, Neiphiu Rio and chief minister, T.R. Zeliang expressed appreciation to the Election Commission of India for its competent and wise decision in asking the NPF party to gracefully settle its internal dispute through reconciliation by first exhausting the provision in the party’s constitution.

While recognizing and acknowledging the ECI order, the house also resolved to file a ‘review petition’, stating that the “competent authority of the ECI has been grossly misguided with misrepresentation of facts and statistics, by the other NPF dissenter group.”

Further, the house lauded the progress achieved so far by the Joint Legislature Forum (JLF), in facilitating the Naga peace talks and in building confidence measures between various Naga Political Groups. It also recognized the imperative need to energetically pursue a peaceful resolution to the Naga political issue. 

The house, in this regard, resolved to impress upon the NLA Speaker to immediately convene the JLF and continue the urgent task of public consultation with Naga civil societies, NGOs, public forums, Naga ex-parliamentarians, etc., toward an amicable settlement of the Naga issue.

The house also condemned the continuous and blatant acts of Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu’s NPF group– “for inhumanely exerting physical threats and intimidations to the Speaker and NLA commissioner & secretary; for gheraoing the NPF central office Hqs., Bayavu Hill, Kohima; for resorting to hooliganism, in contravention of Kohima district magistrate’s order of restraint and for organizing public dharna and riotous spectacle in front of the New Secretariat complex, the administrative headquarters of the Nagaland government.”

The house also reaffirmed total support and appreciation for the tall leadership of both Neiphiu Rio, NPF president and Lok Sabha MP and chief minister, T.R. Zeliang for charting the party and the government in the right direction, at this critical juncture.

Tuesday’s meeting was attended by NPF central office bearers, heads of all NPF central frontal wings, president(s) of all NPF divisions; legislative wing Nagaland state-unit, headed by CM, T.R. Zeliang and the legislative wing of NPF Manipur, headed by Awangbou Newmai, MLA, the press note stated.