NDPP communique on NPF President statements

13th June 2019

COMMUNIQUE

In view of the statements made by the President of the Naga Peoples Front Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu and the Leader of the Opposition Mr. T. R. Zeliang at the CEC meeting of the NPF on 12.06.2019 as reported in the local dailies, the NDPP is constrained to issue this communique.

1) It comes as no surprise to the NDPP that the frustrations and desperations of the NPF party has been aired in the public domain by the statements made by the President of the NPF at the CEC meeting of the NPF wherein he has admitted that “being in the opposition wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that he left it to his legislators to decide on being in a government”.

This coming from the patriarch of the very same party that has declared time and again since the general elections of 2018 that it was only a matter of time before they take over the realms of affairs in the State is nothing short of declaring self-defeat. Such a statement and attitude coming from the “oldest” regional party in the North East is an insult not only to their own party rank and file but also to the electorates who have reposed their mandate on the NPF legislators.

2) The NDPP have in our previous statements, cautioned the Congress party and its president to be wary of the “alliance of convenience” that they had entered into during the just concluded Lok Sabha elections with the NPF; and it comes to no surprise that Dr. Shurhozelie today is attributing the defeat of Mr. K. L. Chishi, the Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate to the “negative approach” of the Congress leaders!

The President of the NPF seems to have stooped to new low by declaring the alliance with the Congress as a “bad bargain” and that “one of the reasons for the failure was because of the presence of “so many so-called” Congress leaders who have negative approach and did not work for their candidate”.

Such condemning words coming from the very person who decided to throw away all principles of the Cock party by aligning himself with the Congress party so as to try and garner some brownie points with the Congress leaders at the Centre in the eventuality of the Congress forming the government can only be taken as treachery and a betrayal of the trust that was reposed on the NPF party by the Congress leadership.

Today, just because the Congress was unable to get the numbers in the Lok Sabha, does the president of the NPF have any moral authority whatsoever to denounce and Congress party and its leadership in the State? The Congress as well as the NPF are both political rivals of the NDPP, however, the NDPP as a mature responsible political party highly condemns the statement of the NPF party and its president wherein they have taken their politics to such a point that they should have no moral authority in calling themselves a political party.

3) It is also shocking that despite numerous clarifications that have been issued in the past, the Leader of Opposition has once again “reminded the audience of the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s statement in April 2018 that integration is not possible”. It has been clarified time and again by both the Chief Ministers Office as well as that NDPP that the Hon’ble CM had only repeated what was conveyed to him and his team when they met with the then Union Home Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh and his team from the MHA and that this was “not” the Chief Ministers statement.

It is unfathomable as to why the Leader of Opposition finds it so difficult to understand this when it has been explained in plain English and not in a foreign dialect. Perhaps his lack of understanding has to do with his false degree! Recordings of this statement are still available and the Chief Minister has stated that “as of now integration is not possible, that was the discussion stated by the Home Minister”.

The NDPP led PDA reiterates our support for the integration of all Naga inhabited areas and it is our continued approach to the Government of India of this stand. The NDPP-PDA is in full support of all the Assembly resolutions passed in the past and have also made our stand very clear in the public domain by time and again declaring that we stand for the integration of all Naga areas and that we will not compromise this stand. The NDPP-PDA assures the people of the State that with the installation of the new Government at Delhi under the leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi, we will continue to tirelessly pursue for the final settlement of the Naga issue at the earliest.

4) The NDPP is also surprised that the Leader of the NPF Legislature party has openly declared that “in the 2018 by-poll for the Lok Sabha seat NPF nominee C. Apok Jamir despite having 26 MLAs and supported by the Congress had lost against the NDPP candidate with a huge margin of over one lakh, seventy thousand votes but the last LS polls the support of 19 NPF MLAS witnessed Congress candidate losing with a mere margin of 16,344 votes” and that “ this is better achievement than the previous LS bye-poll result!”

The NDPP is confused whether this statement of Mr. Zeliang is something which the NPF party needs to be proud of since as a political party it should be taken that these statistics prove that the people have rejected the NPF party considering the margins of defeat in the two LS elections have only proven that the people prefer to support the Congress candidate (a party without a single MLA in the House) rather than the NPF candidate.

The people of the State have once again reposed their confidence on the NDPP led PDA alliance by electing our candidates to the Lok Sabha and the Aonglenden bye-elections and it is our promise to fulfil all our commitments to the people of Nagaland and reciprocate our gratitude by bringing about all round development to the state and its people.

(Issued by NDPP Media & Communication Committee)