Issue-based support to Congress candidate KL Chishi : Naga People's Front
Source: NPF Press Bureau *

Kohima, March 30 2019: The Naga People's Front has taken a stand to lend on issue-based support to the Congress candidate KL Chishi in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

The party has agreed to go by for the secular forces candidate (Congress) together but going together in the ensuing election will not change the stand of the party regionalism nor will it reflect as an alliance partner with them.

Delivering his official statement during the NPF consultative meeting between the CoB, Divisions, CEC, Frontals and MLAs held at Central Office, the party President, Dr.Sh�rhozelie Liezietsu said that though the party has decided to lend support to the Congress, the decision is only for the upcoming election.

Maintaining that the eminent danger posing before the Naga people in the form of Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016) if passed as an Act by the Centre, the NPF, therefore, asserted to garner all secular forces together and fight in the coming LS election and take a stand to defend the future, the President said.

Keeping in the mind the NPF of not fielded its candidature and the consequent reality the Congress alone cannot unseat the ruling PDA candidate, Dr.Sh�rhozelie said that, in politics, some time we find it necessary to uphold our super-consciousness forgetting the consequences that may follow but the issue confronting the Naga people at present is a question of life and death, therefore, the NPF will support the secular party (Congress), he added.

Recalling, the President said that in his political journey he had suffered for many years under the Congress rule and anyone who experience the bitterness will find it very difficult to convince their conscience to vote for another symbol but due to the issue confronting the future of the Naga people, the party have decided to make the best use of a bad bargain and stand with the Congress candidature.

NPF legislature party leader, TR Zeliang in his speech echoed that it may be discouraging to the people that NPF could not set up its candidate for the coming Lok Sabha poll, but the party will give its support to the secular (Congress) candidate through issue based.

However, he maintained that giving its support in the ensuing election does not mean it have an alliance with them.

Due to the issue base such as secularism, CAB and the resolution of the Naga political issue, the NPF will vote for the Congress to defeat the NDPP candidature, Zeliang said.

Speaking on the 7 NPF MLAs who declared its support to the PDA Government and the NPF candidate for the coming Aonglendeng bye-election, Toshipokba, Zeliang stated that it is evidence they have bargained the peoples and party trust for their personal benefits.

He also added saying that the deserted NPF leaders have not brought shame to the party but will cost them throughout their life.

Castigating the statement of the 7 NPF deserter MLAs, the former Chief Minister said that the development was not a sudden but perpetuating for quite a long time that they were struggling to leave the party for one or another reason.

He maintained that on 18 and 23 March 2019, the 26 elected NPF members have thorough discussion for the coming LS election, and where all the 7 deserters have opined not to set up candidate and the support the secular Congress candidate, "they may be cheating the people with their false statement, but they have cheated themselves", Zeliang added.

Zeliang also cautioned that the 7 deserter MLAs is legally still an NPF MLAs and every elected MLA is bind by the party constitution and not by any Assembly speaker and adding that the party have served them a show cause notice of seven days, the door for them is still open but within that stipulated time given to them to return, the party will be compel to initiate further course of steps.

During the discussion, the division presidents and the representatives who took part have asserted that the party is intact and reaffirmed to stand by the party decision and principle.

The meeting was chaired by KG Kenye, Secretary General & MP (RS) and invocation prayer by P Longon, CEC Member.

* The sender of this news can be contacted at npfpressbureau(AT)rediffmail(DOT)com .

Comment