Shurhozelie Liezitsu sworn in as Nagaland Chief Minister

T R Zeliang had stepped down as Chief Minister on Sunday in the wake of violent protests that broke out when his government wanted to hold municipal elections with 33 per cent reservation for women.

Various tribal groups opposed the civic elections on the ground that certain provisions of Nagaland Municipal Act framed under Article 243(T) of the Constitution allegedly infringed upon Naga tradition and customs that are protected under Article 371(A).

Sources said that 58 DAN MLAs signed in favour of 81-year old Shurhozelie on Monday

Shurhozelie, an eight time MLA, did not contested assembly elections in 2013 and will now have to get elected through a byelection within six months.

Meanwhile, Nagaland Tribes Action Committee and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), which spearheaded the agitation against the Zeliang-led government, have decided to call off an indefinite bandh with has paralysed the state since it implementation on January, 30.

Shurhozelie, has held the office of the Education Minister in state government and has also been associated with policy making and is credited with introducing the Compact Area Development Scheme, later named Local Area Development Fund, in Nagaland.

Shurhozelie has also authored four novels and several collections of poetry, he has also written dictionaries and books related to Tenyidie language and biographies and essays. He is also the first to have been conferred a DLit (honorary) by the Nagaland University in 2003.