The Naga People’s Front (NPF) on Monday questioned the wisdom of Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y. Patton in terming the opposition party that it is “finished”.
The press bureau of NPF issued a statement following Patton’s remarks during the third academic assembly session of Janjati Shiksha Samiti Nagaland at Kevijau village in Dimapur on August 31.
“How dare a tall leader of Nagaland just out of the blue say that NPF is finished?” the NPF asked.
The statement said his mathematical calculation may be giving him false information, as in the House of 60, the NPF with 26 MLAs is the single largest party while his BJP has only 12 MLAs.
The NPF sought to remind the Deputy CM that it is because of the unconditional support of the four NPF MLAs to the BJP in Manipur, the Biren Singh-led government could be possible.
“Otherwise the scenario will be totally different,” it said.
It also said Patton should remember that the NPF party has one MP each in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The NPF said the Deputy CM should realise before uttering such “fantasy statement” that it is because of his association with the party in the past many years, he could attain the position where he is now.
It added he is expected to show some sense of respect when he refers to NPF on any occasions.
It said the Deputy CM, during his association with the NPF, should have realised that the NPF is a well-organised and disciplined party from grassroots to central office level and has its units in other northeastern States as well with more than 10 lakh party primary and active members.
The statement further said the NPF is a recognised and registered under ECI as one of the oldest regional political parties in the Northeast and the second oldest in the country.
The NPF said it is surprising that the Deputy CM did not whisper a single word about BJP-NDPP alliance but instead talked about the formation of BJP government on its own in 2023, which will not be very productive for its alliance partner.
The NPF lamented that the Deputy CM, instead of cultivating the students for their brighter future, chose a school to propagate his political rumours to the little school children, which is not considered a healthy practice on his part.