Delhi, January 28 (MExN): The Naga Students’ Union, Delhi (NSUD) has urged India’s Prime Minister to call off the Nagaland state assembly elections and first settle the decades-old Indo-Naga conflict bearing in mind the National Security interest for peace and stability in the North East region, which shares international boundary with Myanmar, Bangladesh and also China. The NSUD, representing the voice of the Naga Students and the youths in Delhi, shot off a memorandum to the Prime Minister on January 27 following a poster campaign at the heart of the National capital, Connaught Place, New Delhi to insist that the Government of India expedite the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process and bring it to a logical conclusion. Hundreds of concerned Naga citizens from all walks of life flocked to the streets of Connaught Place to extend their support for the Naga solution and not election. The NSUD in its memorandum recalled the Prime Minister's promise to settle the Indo-Naga issue within 18 months after assumption of office in 2014 and stated that the same grit and determination that helped in ushering new hope with the signing of the Framework Agreement must be sustained to arrive at an honourable and acceptable solution within a timeframe. In this regard, the union maintained that the announcement of the State Assembly election is opposed to the trust and efforts built over the round of talk in 20 years time. “The Naga people through the NSCN/GPRN, Six Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), Naga Hoho, Tribe Hoho, Joint Christian Forum, tribal bodies, civil society, women groups and Naga students have unanimously impelled for an early Political solution and not election,” the NSUD stated while noting that the present Government has the favourable strength in Parliament and also ruling governments in Assam and Manipur that is most conducive to exercise the political will to resolve the Indo-Naga issue. “The Nagas have given and evolved into the idea of Shared Sovereignty and since 1997, we have shown our commitment to peace and we expect India to appreciate this fact and shed imperial outlook in its approach to the Peace process,” the NSUD stated and further appealed on the Prime Minister to “seize this historic opportunity and rise to the occasion”. The student body invoked the observation of the Supreme Court of India, where holding of elections can be delayed under certain circumstances, (ref. In the matter of special reference no. 1 of 2002 (Gujarat Assembly Election Matter, 2002) 8 SCC 237) and appealed to the Election Commission of India to call off the election notification until the finalisation of an honourable solution to the Indo-Naga Peace Talk. “In the interest of peace we once again make this call for a logical conclusion to the Indo-Naga political talk and call off the Nagaland Election,” it appealed.
