Naga leaders meet Shinde
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy : The Hindu

New Delhi, October 16 2012: A delegation of top Naga leaders led by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio met Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde here on Monday and reiterated their demand for a permanent solution to the problem of insurgency in the State before the Assembly elections due early next year.

Urging Mr.Shinde to speed up the ongoing peace talks with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), the 19 Nagaland MLAs told him that the "peace-loving people" of the northeastern State wanted this six-decade-old problem of militancy to end soon.

They said that if the Centre failed to reach a solution before the end of the current term of the 60-member Assembly on March 26, 2013, it would shatter the fragile peace in the northeast.

"We have requested the Union Home Minister to expedite the talks with the NSCN (IM) and find a solution before the Assembly election," Nagaland Home Minister Imkong L.Imchem told journalists here.

Notably, the Naga leaders want the Centre to sign a pact with the NSCN (IM) before the polls so that the rebel leaders can also take part in the elections.

Talking to journalists last week, Mr.Shinde said that he was hopeful of an early settlement of the Naga problem, and was in touch with the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh on the issue.

Government sources say the Centre, which has held several rounds of talks with the NSCN (IM) leaders for the past 15 years, has secured a written commitment from the rebel group that it will accept the Constitution and recognise the impracticality of redrawing State boundaries in the interest of peace in the northeast.

It is for this reason that the Naga leaders believe that it is the right time to press for a permanent solution to the complex problem.

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