Constitution has enough scope to resolve Naga issue: Sonia

She, however, did not name the rebel groups (the two factions of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) fighting for a sovereign Nagaland). She said the regional aspirations could not be fulfilled through violence. “It is a fact youth are seeking a better life and a better future. Some people had in the past thought such dreams could be realised only through violence. However, it is only through development that such dreams could be realized,”the Congress president said. Development required stability, which could come only by voting the Congress party to power in the state, she said.

Nagaland goes to the polls on March 5 to elect the 60-member Assembly. “It is the Congress that brought freedom to India. It is also this party that had given statehood to Nagaland and had always provided funds for the development of the state. Don’t get carried away by false promises of other parties,” Sonia said. She was hinting at the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), a coalition headed by the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) with the BJP as one of its major partners. The DAN was in the power till it was dismissed and President’s Rule imposed in the state on January 3.

Hitting out at the DAN Government, Sonia said it was not just a corrupt regime, but also one that miserably failed to provide security to the people. “We have to fight against the politics of violence and corruption that the DAN regime had propagated. I appeal to the people of Nagaland to rebuild the state by voting the Congress to power,” she said.

“The Centre gave full financial support to the state since the UPA came to power. But what happened to those funds? Were those properly used? I think the people know better,” she said. Talking about the Union Budget, the UPA chairperson said, “It is a historic budget and the Government has taken a revolutionary step by giving massive relief especially to the small and marginal farmers.”