Prime Minister Narendra Modi cheated the people of Nagaland on the vexed ‘Naga political issue’ by not giving shape to a 2015 agreement and extending the contentious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) after the Oting massacre, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on February 21.
The Centre had signed the Framework Agreement with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in August 2015 for resolving the “Naga political issue” pertaining to the peace process. A botched ambush by an elite unit of the Army led to the death of 15 people in Mon district’s Oting in December 2021.
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Addressing an election meeting for Nagaland Congress president K. Therie, Mr. Kharge said the Modi Government in Delhi “does not have the political will” to put the agreed solutions into effect.
The BJP-led government has been delaying the solution to the State’s issues despite setting deadlines besides ignoring the Oting incident to continue to declare Nagaland as a disturbed area and extend the AFSPA, he said.
“Prime Minister Modi announced on August 3, 2015, that the Naga issue has been resolved with the signing of the Framework Agreement. Nearly eight years down the line, this has become an empty boast,” Mr. Kharge said.
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“Prime Minister Modi has cheated the people of Nagaland and the country as well,” he added.
The Congress chief also slammed the BJP and its regional ally, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) for trying to implement the “hate-driven” agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagaland.
“Threat to Naga identity”
He said Nagaland became the first State to be accorded special status after the Jawaharlal Nehru-headed Congress Government incorporated Article 371A in the Constitution of India.
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“While Naga identity is your true pride, it is this identity that the NDPP, the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS have a problem with. They rather want to recast our indigenous people as Vanvasi. This recasting of Adivasis into a Vanvasi is integral to the ideological project of the BJP and RSS,” Mr. Kharge said.
“The BJP is hell-bent upon creating a divide within Nagaland and abrogating the provisions of Article 371A which will pave the way for the easy implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, which is the mainstay of the divisive agenda of the BJP,” he said.
The BJP’s politics is aimed at destroying the indigenous and unique culture of Nagas. The people of Nagaland must stand against this attack on the culture of Nagaland and the politics of polarisation and hatred, Mr. Kharge warned.
Mr. Kharge also cautioned the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) about the “characteristic trait” of the BJP Government to make empty promises. He promised a slew of development projects for the ENPO area comprising six districts if Congress gets the mandate of the people of Nagaland.
He accused the NDPP, BJP and NPF (Naga People’s Front, former ally of BJP) of looting Nagaland for the last 20 years by “mysteriously exhausting” Central funds meant for various development projects.
“BJP failed Meghalaya”
Sachin Pilot addressing a public meeting in Shillong on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Twitter/@SachinPilot
In Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said the BJP and its ally, the National People’s Party (NPP) failed the State through the “politics of manoeuvring”.
The BJP, he said, stands exposed by not resolving the issues Meghalaya has been beset with despite having its much-vaunted “double engine” government in Delhi and the north-eastern State.
Mr. Pilot hoped the people of Meghalaya would see through the machinations of the BJP and NPP and give the young candidates of Congress a chance. Of the 60 candidates fielded by the party, 47 are young first-timers.
In Nagaland, Congress is contesting 25 seats.
