Updated 21 August 2020 at 08:15 IST
Nagaland: PDA notes governor RN Ravi's I-Day speech not received well by people
In a new turn in Nagaland's politics, People’s Democratic Alliance has said that Governor RN Ravi's Independence speech was not received well by the people.
In a new turn of events in Nagaland's politics, the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) has said that Governor RN Ravi's Independence speech was not received well by the people of the state.
The PDA is a coalition of BJP and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and is currently running the government. The NDPP has also taken note of the people’s concern on the contents of Ravi’s speech wherein “negative statements” on Nagaland were made.
A meeting was called by the PDA at the State Banquet Hall in Kohima on Thursday wherein a four-point resolution was adopted.
“The PDA observes that the speech has not been well received by the people. Though Nagaland may not be the best-performing state, we are making every effort to take the state forward on all developmental fronts. As representatives of the people, the PDA is compelled to voice the feelings of the people.” a joint statement issued by NDPP president Chingwang Konyak and state BJP president Tenjen Imna Along after the meeting said.
The PDA welcomed the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the government of India for taking the initiative to resume the Indo-Naga political dialogue with utmost seriousness in “collective endeavour” for a political solution paving the way for peace, progress and all-round development.
The governor's I-Day speech
Governor RN Ravi is also the interlocutor of the Naga talks.
"Investment climate in Nagaland is worrisome. We need to build an investment-friendly eco-system so as to encourage investors from outside and within the State to have sufficient confidence to set up enterprises. Unfortunately, Government jobs are the main source of employment, and the economy is largely based on salaries of Government servants. Even our agriculture and horticulture sectors which are the mainstay of our State’s economy are in distress. We have to encourage and incentivise entrepreneurship,” Ravi said in his independence speech.
“Ironically relative decline is more obvious during recent decades. When the security forces and the Naga armed groups agreed to suspend operations against each other paving the way for a political settlement, the legitimate expectation of the people of Nagaland was dividends of peace – freedom from fear of guns, better health, better education, better infrastructure, better livelihood opportunities, an atmosphere to dream and an ecosystem to pursue their dreams,” Ravi remarked.
“Incongruously a deeply entrenched network of vested interests has emerged during the period which has misappropriated the dividends of Peace and did not allow them to reach the people. There are mass-scale mayhem and miscarriage of dreams and expectations of the people of Nagaland. It is unendurable and unacceptable. In India’s grand march forward, Nagaland cannot be left behind. The people of Nagaland have the natural right of a dignified future. For this, we will have to build and strengthen institutions of accountability, justice, and fair play. We will have to break the vice-like grip of the vicious circle of the network of vested interests and make way for the virtuous circle of peace, prosperity, and happiness for our people. This cannot be achieved by the Government alone. In this endeavour, we need the cooperation of the two million people of Nagaland. I have deep and abiding faith in the inherent goodness and capability of our people,” he said.
The current situation
Peace parleys were underway between the Government of India and NSCN-IM, one of the factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland which were stalled for a brief period due to the Independence Day speech by RN Ravi. After which the NSCN-IM asked for the removal of interlocuter Ravi. The NSCN-IM had also demanded a separate constitution and a flag earlier which the government rejected.
However, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), has said that the peace parleys between NSCN-IM and the Government of India are back on track.
(Representative Photo. Credit: PTI)
Published By : Pritesh Kamath
Published On: 21 August 2020 at 08:15 IST