Ahead of a vital round of peace talks with the NSCN(IM) at The Hague in the Netherlands tomorrow, the Centre decided to reconstitute the government delegation to leave tonight due to objections raised by the outfit. According to earlier plans, only Union Minister Oscar Fernandes was supposed to have been part of the government delegation that includes interlocutor K Padmanabhiah and other home ministry officials. It has now decided to send two more ministers, S Reghupathy and Prithviraj Chauhan, who were part of the Group of Ministers (GoM) formed last year for the talks. Sources said the sudden change was due to objections raised by the NSCN(IM), which was of the view that Fernandes did not have the necessary clout to convince the government on the need to fulfill the demands forwarded by the outfit. He is currently a minister without portfolio. While Reghupathy is Minister of State for Home Affairs, Chauhan is a Minister of State at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The GoM was formed last year when the NSCN(IM) leaders — general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and chairman Isak Chisi Swu — visited the country. It signalled the upgradation of the peace process initiated in 1997 to the political level. In the various rounds of parleys held since last year at Bangkok and Amsterdam, it was only Fernandes who was part of the government team. Deputing the other ministers now would also mean that two of the most important ministries associated with major policy decisions are directly participating in the dialogue. On most occasions, the spotlight of the discussions have been on the demand for Greater Nagalim which means bringing all Nagas living in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh under a single administrative mechanism. The government has told the Nagas that it would not be easy to fulfill the demand since it would entail dividing the three states. Sources explained that the government’s emphasis on taking up less intractable issues for discussion have found favour with the Nagas and hence the issue of autonomy in the next round. The agreement on ceasefire expires on July 31 as the outfit had decided last January to renew it only for six months instead of one year as has been the case since 1997. Another round of talks is likely before both sides sit for discussions later next month for renewal of the agreement. PCG reaches Delhi for 3rd round of talks Guwahati: Even as nine of the 11 People’s Consultative Group members left for New Delhi today, sources said ULFA chief Paresh Barua asked them to propose that a ceasefire be declared. Interestingly, the Assam government had last Friday told Rajiv Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Home, Government of India that it was in favour of a clear-cut policy — either a ceasefire or a crackdown. An official delegation of the Assam government, headed by Chief Secretary S Kabilan, has also reached the capital and would participate in the talks for the first time on Thursday.
