DIMAPUR, APRIL 15 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) today stated that there is “no reason” for further delay in taking a decision on the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).
A press release from the NPCC communication department termed the PDA government’s call for a consultative meeting on April 16 as a “total sham.”
“It represents the directionless objective of PDA govt that is unable to conclude and implement what it started off nearly two years ago when it constituted Commission on RIIN headed by Banuo Z Jamir,” the NPCC said. It pointed out that the Commission on RIIN during the course of its assigned work had carried out extensive consultations with various stakeholders of Nagaland to compile and complete its report that has already been submitted to the State Government.
It said that convening another consultative meeting on after the Commission on RIIN had submitted its report is akin to “putting the cart before the horse and is yet another attempt to delay and deny justice to the people of Nagaland.”
The NPCC advised the government not to “override the interest of the people by imposing ‘Cleverly Worded Resolution’ to shelve implementation of RIIN and tacitly shift responsibility on the stakeholders invited to the meeting.” It further asked the stakeholders invited to the meeting to be “very careful of the government’s intention and not succumb to theatrics that will be rolled out.”
It meanwhile accused the present government of being “prepared to appease and open floodgates for all outsiders to settle in Nagaland.” “The founding fathers of the state were farsighted enough to draw up protective systems for our people. Unfortunately, the present government is already dismantling the very protective systems that have sustained our way of life and gave us unique identity as a state within the Indian Union,” the NPCC said.
It reiterated that the government must implement the Commission on RIIN Report with cut-off year as December 1, 1963 “rather than engage in distractions and delaying tactics to prolong its stay in power.”
