Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Addressing his first rally in Nagaland before polls on February 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Naga political issue may be resolved in the next few months. He also said the solution to the issue would keep in mind the dignity of the Nagas. Speaking in Hindi Thursday at the rally in Tuensang, and with Minister of State for Home Affairs and Nagaland BJP in charge Kiren Rijiju translating every sentence to Nagamese, Prime Minister Modi said, “Saathiyon yahan par jo rajneetik samasya hai, uske samadhan ke liye bhi, hamaari sarkaar gambhirta se prayaas kar rahi hai. Mujhe umeed hai ki agle kuch maheenon mein Nagaland ke logon ke liye sammanjanak aur unke rajneetik adhikaron ka aadar karne vaala samadhan hum prapt kar sakenge (For the political problem that exists, our government is making serious attempts. It is my hope that in the next few months, for the people of Nagaland, a solution with dignity and which respects their political rights, we will be able to achieve).”
In August 2015, the Centre had announced that a framework agreement had been reached with the NSCN(IM), one of the primary Naga underground groups in the state, 18 years after a ceasefire was negotiated in 1997. The government is also in talks with other Naga political groups, but the NSCN(K) which operates from the Myanmar border has still not officially been roped in to negotiations.
He also said the resolution of the issue would strengthen the country. “For this, we will all have to walk together. Everyone has to be taken along. In Nagaland this resolution of a cause of worry for the people will strengthen our country and as a family we can then dedicate ourselves to the development of our country, and this path can be strengthened,” he said.
Much of Modi’s 40-minute speech in his only rally in Nagaland concentrated on corruption, stressing on the efforts the Centre was making to eradicate “loopholes and leakages.” Modi said that his vision for Nagaland was based on “Transformation by Transportation”, and spoke extensively on road, rail, air connectivity, and electricity access as well as the impetus on the National Bamboo Mission and the government’s new health insurance scheme that he said “people are now calling Modicare.”
The Prime Minister also said his government “respects every voice that is rising out of concern for the people of Nagaland.” “We have always kept the door open for dialogue with anyone who respects democracy in our country. ENPO area is a very backward area. With Nagaland, we will give special attention to the ENPO area,” Modi said.
Demands raised by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organisation (ENPO) is another sensitive subject in the state with the organisation demanding a separate state which includes Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire and Longlend districts that border Myanmar.
Modi also said that Nagaland’s unique way of life was the “pride of India”. “Our country is so diverse, so varied, but is still so united, the realisation of that strength happens when you come to Nagaland. Different communities and tribes, but everybody sings Jan Gana Mana in unison. I am seeing the meaning of Ek Bharat, Srestha Bharat in front of me.”
And while Modi did not directly reference the criticism the BJP has faced from both the Nagaland Baptist Church Council and the Opposition of being anti-minority in a Christian-dominated state, Modi said, “The people involved in vote-bank politics, those that have the habit of dividing, and making societies fight, today you have given them an answer with your presence.”
While the BJP has been in power with the Naga People’s Front in the present state government, and then chose to ally with its rival the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), headed by former NPF Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Prime Minister Modi seemed to pitch the new alliance as one of stability and strength.
“The development of Nagaland will happen when everyone pulls together. And this is why in the past few years, the political instability people have seen, time has come to move beyond that. In four years, the cabinet should take oath four times, this situation stops development, which is why it is very important that Nagaland has a stable and solid government which should only be committed to the development of Nagaland,” he said. He added that if the BJP NDPP were to come to power, there would be “a double engine” furthering Nagaland, one at the state level, and the other at the Centre.
