He may have been the seventh Prime Minister to visit Nagaland. But this was for the first time that a prime minister’s visit to the state was not marked by protests and criticism.Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s three-day maiden trip to Nagaland has already made history of sorts, as has been evident from the way the people and the media here described it. ‘‘He came, saw and conquered’’, that is how Northeast Herald, a leading newspaper of the state described the PM’s visit in its editorial today. What about us: Gogoi JORHAT (ASSAM): Assam CM Tarun Gogoi has criticised the Centre for announcing packages for Nagaland and accused it of adopting a step-motherly attitude towards his state. ‘‘Nagaland does not need or deserve so much. If we get a little more funds like Nagaland we could at least repay our Rs 11.5 crore loan to the banks,” he said. (PTI) For M. Vero, president of the Naga Hoho, the apex council of traditional bodies encompassing the Naga tribes, it was ‘‘a reunion with an old friend’’. ‘‘We may have differences between us because he is the Prime Minister and I the president of the Naga Hoho. But our friendship dates back to the early ‘60s when I was an MP. We could exchanges ideas and put across the basic issues faced by the Nagas,’’ Vero, who described Vajpayee as a honest man, remarked. He went on to say that Vajpayee would not ‘‘bluff’’ the Nagas.The student community too is of the opinion that Vajpayee’s visit would accelerate the peace process. Interestingly, no Naga leader wants to analyse the impact or inner meaning of the PM’s statement that the issue of Naga integration should be thrashed out through consensus. ‘‘It is too early to comment on such a sensitive issue,’’ said the NSF vice-president.While the NSCN(I-M) demand for integration of all Naga-inhabited areas of the N-E has also been by and large endorsed by various civil society organisations including the Naga Mothers’ Association, Naga Hoho and Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights, Vajpayee chose to wait for a consensus rather than saying ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’.On the other side of the fence, the Federal Government of Nagaland, the underground government of the Naga National Council has felt offended that the ‘‘Indian PM’’ turned down its request to allow them an audience. The NSCN(K), which has been at loggerheads with the NSCN(I-M) and wants to be part of the peace process has said it hoped the PM could understand the ‘‘real picture of the Indo-Naga problem’’.‘‘It is good that the Indian Prime Minister came to the Naga country. We are hopeful he has come to get the real picture of the problem and not create another problem by causing enmity between the Nagas and the Meiteis by trying to appease the NSCN(I-M),’’ said Manom Phom, deputy minister of the ‘‘Government of the People’s Republic of Nagaland’’, the underground government of the NSCN(K). The best comment comes from the editorial of Northeast Herald again. Citing PM’s visit to the World War II cemetery, it referred to the quote on the main cemetery pillar which reads: ‘‘When you go home, tell them of us, and say ‘For their tomorrow, we gave our today’. When he (the PM) goes home, he needs to tell as many as he can of the Nagas and how they welcomed him.”
