DIMAPUR, MARCH 17 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has stated that Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s recent “outburst” against the Congress is an attempt to speak the “language of sectarian and communal forces to befool the people of Nagaland.” It is “just rhetoric in parroting the voice of his new found mentor Narendra Modi in an attempt to meekly submit before the BJP High Command,” NPCC said.
In a release from its Media Cell, the NPCC noted that “Blaming the Congress at the centre for not having the political will to solve the vexed Naga political issue stems from his own insincerity after the 2003 election promise to bring solution within three months if voted to power.” The NPCC alleged that by “clinging on” to the chief ministerial chair for the past 11 years, while remaining “non committal” to pave way for any interim settlement, Rio’s claim as a “Facilitator” to the Naga political issue has to be clarified.
The NPCC has also stated that Rio should “publicly come out” with his stand on the issues which the BJP has committed to implement if voted with clear majority. These include the Anti Conversion laws which primarily aim at “curtailing the mission activities of a particular religion in helping the needy and poor across the most neglected pockets/belts of the country;” Building of Ram Temple in Ayodhya “which remains a political tinderbox;” Total ban on cow slaughter “which infringes on the dietary habits of people especially from North East region;” Uniform Civil Code “that threatens the socio-cultural rights and practices of religious minorities;” and Abrogating Article 370 in J&K, “which will in retrospect affect Article 371(A) enjoyed by Nagaland.”
The Nagaland Congress has also found it “amusing” that Neiphiu Rio has “started labeling the Congress as communal party to portray his political opportunism infront of the communal BJP mentored by the RSS.” According to the Congress, Rio has also promised to “contribute resources for building the statue of the late Home Minister (Vallabhbhai Patel) in Gujarat.”
Regarding Rio “raking up the issue of 1984 Sikh riots,” the NPCC stated that “It is pertinent to mention that both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-himself a Sikh- and UPA Chairperson Smti. Sonia Gandhi had regretted the unfortunate episode of 1984 while the chief architect of 2002 Gujarat riots Narendra Modi and the BJP are still unrepentant on the carnage that took place under the official patronage of the state machinery. Therefore, Rio should also request the same from Modi and the BJP if he talks about moral authority in a complex country like India.”
The NPCC also stated that Rio’s deriding of the Congress flagship schemes is a case of “biting the hand that feeds” as Rio has “made a huge fortune out of various flagship schemes launched by the Congress led UPA at the centre for the past decade.” Rio, by openly lambasting the Right to Education (RTE) and Food Security, has “exposed his capitalist mindset which is in line with the BJPs socio-economic agenda of exclusiveness.”
