Dimapur, February 2 (MExN): The Chakhesang Public Organization (CPO) today denounced the “careless and senseless” statements of Chief Secretary of Nagaland Lalthara who is accused of ignorance of the current legal process and for fomenting tribal sentiments. He is alleged to have said, among others, that the CPO approached the court seeking redress for the state government giving more reservation to Eastern Nagas and that the Chakhesang are no longer backward but are advanced. The CPO has demanded clarification “as to what had prompted him to make such a senseless utterance and incite communal twist.”
The CPO said that the chief secretary’s statement is in contradiction to the open court statement of the Advocate General of Nagaland on August 28, 2010 that the decision on the committee report is under consideration of the government and a new decision is expected within the month of September, 2010. “The state Cabinet has not come out with any decisions till date. It’s this indifferent attitude of the state machinery and not us, who should be blamed for the present emerging situations,” the CPO stated in a statement today.
On the Public Interest Litigation it has filed concerning the reservation policy, the CPO said it had sought the court of law for protection of the legitimate rights of the BTs of Nagaland in general and the Chakhesang Tribe in particular and challenged the actions of the state that are arbitrary and in contravention to the original policy. By way of a notification on July 23, 2008 the state arbitrarily sought to reduce the reservation benefit of the Chakhesang tribe from the earlier 4% to 2.6%, the organization said.
Excepting job reservation benefits, the CPO said, the Chakhesang tribe is deprived from all other benefits such as Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) extended to all the BTs and some advance tribes except the Chakhesang; benefits such as special grants, Border Area Development Fund and other packages meant for BTs are denied to the Chakhesang; the Chakhesang are the only tribe among the BTs to be excluded from DUDA.
On the chief secretary’s comment that appeared on January 29, 2011 the CPO took exception at his saying that “the CPO had filed Litigation in Kohima bench of Gauhati High Court asserting that the eastern Nagas were given more advantage in job reservation comparing with the other BTs of Nagaland.” This is far from truth, the CPO said, as it has been consistently maintaining that the eastern Nagas deserve enhancement on job reservation keeping in view of the ground realities and there is no such PIL pending before Kohima bench as stated.
Another of Lalthara’s statement was also denounced: “the Chakhesangs were not losing as they have been fairly treated, given their present status among the tribes of Nagaland” and that “the Chakhesang people were no longer backward as they have advanced in all spheres of life”. The CPO records its appreciation to the Government for creating 33% job reservation that has benefited the community immensely for the last four decades.”
“Surprisingly,” the CPO said, ‘in the recent teachers’ recruitment as well, the Chakhesangs were the only tribe among the BTs that were segregated and isolated for reason best known to the government’. “On the question of been advance in all spheres of life, the CPO wish to know on what basis he has made such a statement,” the CPO said. “It is unbecoming of the top bureaucrat to contradict the expert findings of the committee constituted by the Government on which the Government is yet to arrive at any decision.”
