The Nagaland Congress on Thursday termed the calling of another consultative meeting by the Nagaland government with various apex tribe organisations on the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) a ‘total sham’.
Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) said convening another meeting represents the directionless objective of the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) government that is unable to conclude and implement what it started off nearly two years ago when it constituted the Commission on RIIN, headed by Banuo Z Jamir.
“Since 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, there is no reason for further delay in taking a decision on the report,” the NPCC said in a release.
According to the Nagaland Congress, convening another consultative meeting on April 16 after the Commission on RIIN had submitted its report is akin to putting the cart before the horse.
Also read: Nagaland Cabinet to discuss RIIN on April 7
The Nagaland Congress said it is yet another attempt to delay and deny justice to the people of Nagaland.
The NPCC said the PDA government should not attempt to override the interest of the people by imposing ‘cleverly worded resolution’ to shelve implementation of RIIN and tacitly shift responsibility to the stakeholders invited to the meeting.
The stakeholders comprising of various tribe hohos who have invited to the meeting must be very careful of the government’s intention and should not succumb to theatrics that will be rolled out, it warned.
The NPCC said the failure of the government to even invite consensus from other political parties in the State on RIIN speaks volumes about its hidden agenda that is detrimental to the people of the State.
“In its lust for power, the PDA government is prepared to appease and open floodgates for all outsiders to settle in Nagaland,” the Nagaland Congress alleged.
Stating that the founding fathers of the state were farsighted enough to draw up protective systems for “our people”, the NPCC alleged that 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”.
It reiterated that the PDA government must implement the report of the Commission on RIIN with cut-off year as December 1, 1963, rather than engage in distractions and delaying tactics to prolong its stay in power.
The interest of the people of Nagaland and its future generations cannot be bartered or sacrificed for the interest of PDA government, the NPCC stated.
Meanwhile, the Joint Committee against Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) had also called a consultative meeting with the apex tribal bodies of the State. It called the meeting following the expiry of its ultimatum to the State government for promulgation of an ordinance to implement RIIN by March 31.
JCPI convener Atomi Swu and secretary Tia Longchar said they desired to hold a consultative meeting with the apex tribal bodies and their general secretaries at the earliest either on April 16 or April 23.
They reiterated that it was decided that only December 1, 1963, cut-off year would be the yardstick for identifying the indigenous inhabitant of the State.