Source: The Sangai Express
New Delhi, November 04:
The Centre is closer to reaching a solution to the Nagaland problem and it might be resolved in a year or two, Centre�s interlocutor on North-East talks K Padmanabhaiah said yesterday.
The differences between the two sides have been narrowed down and the problem might be resolved in a year or two, he said.
Padmanabhaiah was speaking at a seminar on "Federalism in India�s North-East", organized by the Observer Research Foundation.
Blaming "weak governance and lack of attention" for the problem, the former Home Secretary said "politicians and administrators have not spared sufficient attention to this area, partly because of its geographical inaccessibility and partly due to absence of major projects there".
Padmanabhiah said he personally felt that creation of Nagaland and Mizoram on the basis of ethnicity was creating problems since this incited ambitions of different ethnic tribes.
He said poor parliamentary representation of the region was a major reason for the North-East being put on the backburner.
He accused certain political elements of maintaining linkages with underground forces to ensure their security, causing further problems.
Advocating strengthening of local police, Padmanabhiah said deployment of army never helped in checking insurgency, whether it was in the North East, Punjab or Kashmir.
Stressing the need for strong linkages between State Governments and the Centre if solutions were to be found, he said, "If every district is converted into a State, how does one finance the cost of maintenance of police"? Earlier the NSCN (IM) collective leadership had stated that they would not enter into an agreement with the Government of India before taking the views and opinion of the Naga people.
The stand of the IM leadership was taken to be a significant step forward as a number of Naga NGOs, political parties and the Government of Nagaland had mooted the suggestion of taking the views of all the Naga people before a settlement is reached.