Dimapur: Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president K Therie alleged that the law and order have collapsed in Nagaland and the uncontrolled price hike is due to the collapse in governance.
In a release, Therie demanded the removal of inter-state check gates in the state in view of GST and VAT while appreciating the recent removal of other check gates.
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He said though chief secretary J Alam was expecting a fall in prices of essential commodities after the removal of the check gates inside the state, it has not happened on the ground.
Saying that internal check gate extortions were only transferred to wholesalers and retailers, the NPCC chief said more actions are required to bring down the price hike.
The basis of price hike is compounded with corruption and extortion by all the organs, agencies, registered societies, unions, associations and insurgents, he added.
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Therie appealed to the administration, police and judiciary to work together to restore law and order and control price hikes by forming an independent pricing commission with taxes, weights and measures and other departments and agencies concerned, beginning from Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland.
According to Therie, Essential Commodities Act and Weights and Measures Act that sustain prices are no longer known to the people.
He said illegal extortion by societies and insurgents is deeply rooted and has replaced the law in Nagaland.
Saying that the state government has lost control for the past two decades, he said extortion and corruption are firmly rooted from top to bottom and that no one is fit to throw the first stone.
“Words like percentage, commission, cut, our government tax (not people’s government tax) have all been coined during the two decades’ rule and these have become the law and practiced as conventional law,” he said.
He said societies do not practice defined welfare objectives to encourage, promote and preserve high standards amongst people. Rather, hundreds of societies, unions and associations are taking law and order into their own hands by undertaking enforcement upon soft targets from amongst the traders, he added.
“There is complete freedom of abusing and intimidating business houses and retailers as we have seen in multiple viral video clips,” Therie said.
He also alleged that instead of upholding the Constitution and the law of the land, many village councils and gaon burhas (village heads), who are expected to deal with law and order effectively with customary laws and procedures, support unlawful activities while the administration remains a mute spectator.
Coordinated efforts in enforcing the law and customary laws are no more the practice, he said.
Stating that the state Legislative Assembly’s failures are “mighty”, Therie said: “For many moons, we have not seen new laws to deal with an evolving society and the growth of the economy.”
“Instead of despising bribe-takers, people praise and pray for them. This is the heights of the hypocrisy of corruption,” he said.
Therie said the judiciary has earned a huge trust deficit and the criminals no longer fear repeating crimes. He said he was shocked to know that all accused in the assassination attempt on former chief minister Dr. SC Jamir at Piphima were acquitted. “Someone told me the judgment looked like Jamir had attempted his own life,” he said.
Therie stressed that the judiciary and police should work together in the interests of the safety and security of life and properties of the citizens. They must coordinate to implement common objectives in enforcing the law of the land, he added.