Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio and opposition leader TR Zeliang have jointly called upon the Central government to take early steps to the decade long Naga political issue.

Both Rio and Zeliang said they have issued the joint statement for peace and unity.

They urged the Centre and the Naga organisations participating in the peace talks to “arrive at an early solution”, which will bring prosperity to the people of the region, said the statement issued on Friday.

The joint statement comes after the two leaders had met Union Home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on October 20.

The state government had convened a consultative meeting with representatives of all the civil society organisations, political parties, ex-parliamentarians and public leaders.

The opposition NPF acknowledged the content and spirit of the resolutions adopted during the October 15 consultative meeting and is “committed to actively support all initiatives towards resolution of the Naga issue”, the joint statement said.

The Nagaland government also hailed the NPF party resolution, adopted in a meeting under the banner of the Political Affairs Mission, on September 14.