Naga peace accord: Sonia forced Northeast CMs to retract statements, says BJP

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Reminding the Congress president that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did not consult the CMs of the Northeast when she signed the Shillong Accord in 1975, Sitharaman said the Congress approach is not good for the country. “The Congress should introspect rather than criticise the government, even on something like this which took place after a very long time and where several governments were involved. It is not good for the country, particularly for the Northeast. I think the approach of Congress should be more in the national interest,” Sitharaman said.

She accused the Congress of going against the voice of its own CMs and MPs who had initially welcomed the move, but are now opposing the accord. The minister also denied Sonia’s charge that no one was consulted by Modi government before signing the Nagaland accord with NSCN (IM). The PM held discussions with the chief minister, the speaker and members of Nagaland assembly besides Home Minister Rajnath Singh, she said. “To muffle their voice and make them speak much against their own opinion does not speak about any freedom of speech, freedom of expression and democracy within Congress party and on a matter of national security,” she said.

Sitharaman said: “The Shillong Accord… Forgetting that measure today, you want to have a different measure when it comes to Narendra Modi and the NDA government which has made a historic deal… I wonder if Indira Gandhi would have wanted the opposition parties then to oppose tooth and nail the Shillong Accord only because she had one interlocutor and other CMs were not even briefed.”

In Hyderabad, talking to media on the sidelines of an event, Santosh Gangwar said: “Main aisa manta hoon ki, woh (Sonia) apne damaad (Robert Vadra) ki chinta kare, pahale uske bare me rai de, aur uske baad me aur kisi mamle par baat kare. Woh apne damaad ke bare me kya ray rakathi hain, Soniaji ko iska ujagar karna chahiye. (I feel that Sonia should first worry about her son-in-law. She should first express her opinion on him and then talk about other matters. She should clarify what opinion she has about her son-in-law).

With PTI inputs