Cong pulls out of Naga peace meet

Kohima, March 2: The Congress today pulled out of a “consultative meeting” organised by the government to push forward the ongoing Naga peace process after blaming a ruling constituent, the Nagaland People’s Front, of causing a defection in the party.

Four Congress MLAs — Kejong Chang, Azheto Sumi, Aloh Konyak and Deo Nukhu — quit the Assembly recently to join the NPF.

The Congress cited the defection, allegedly engineered by the NPF, the main constituent of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland, as the primary reason to stay away from the meeting, slated for March 5-7.

The meeting, convened by the state government’s “peace affairs committee”, will be attended by Nagas living abroad, Naga support groups, Naga representatives from Myanmar, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, various tribal hohos, civil societies, church organisations, political parties and representatives from Naga rebel factions.

PCC president K.V. Pusa said the party had received an invitation to attend the meeting but the recent resignation of four of its legislators from the Assembly to join the NPF, has forced the party to rethink its participation.

The party directly blamed the NPF for the defection of four of its members.

Pusa said the Congress would continue to work for an amicable solution to the Naga issue and thanked the various Naga organisations for their concern over the issue.

Former chief minister K.L. Chishi also warned the government that weaning away Congress policymakers would jeopardise the Naga peace process.

Though the Opposition Congress was of the view that the long-drawn Naga political problem has to be resolved through peaceful and democratic means, party insiders said the state government had also failed to take them into confidence before conceptualising the proposed meeting.

The Opposition said a major political party like the Congress has been kept in the dark, which amounts to ignoring it as a whole.

It further said the working and concept papers and the agenda of the meeting were not circulated along with the invitation cards.

Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), which is active in brokering peace in the state, also said that trying to pull down each other would create more divisions in the Naga society.

Rev. Zhabu Terhuja, the outgoing general secretary of the powerful Nagaland Baptist Church Council, appealed to the Naga policymakers against indulging in such activities.

The peace affairs committee chairman, T.M. Lotha, urged the Congress to participate in the meeting. He said the proposal was the outcome of the meeting with various Naga organisations.

Lotha said the meeting was called for a common cause and to discuss and evolve a consensus on the Naga political issue.

Source: The Telegraph