PM Narendra Modi is said to have been working hard on pulling off a surprise on the oldest insurgency in the country - very much like late PM Rajiv Gandhi did in June 1986 when he signed an accord with Mizo rebels led by Laldenga.
The first signals of an imminent formal accord with Naga rebels would start flashing if the Election Commission, in consultation with the government, accedes to the demand of the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTCHOC) to defer the 27 February assembly elections.
If the EC takes a different view, it may signal that the solution to the Naga insurgency is still a work in progress and it may not be suitable to postpone the state election at this point of time.
"The opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the Naga political issue has never been this favorable as the political negotiations are in advance stage and we cannot effort to distract the focus on the process at any cost," the Core Committee said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat.
Noting in the letter that prime minister Narendra Modi was very determined to resolve the Naga issue, the Committee said that the Indian government's interlocutor RN Ravi, along with the Naga negotiating teams, were also working hard and were committed to concluding the talks soon.
The core committee's stand seems to reflect the consensual opinion in Nagaland.
The separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Muivah (Issac-Muivah), which had signed the Framework Agreement to end Naga insurgency in August 2015 with the central government, had claimed that the decision to hold elections was bound to undermine the progress in the ongoing parleys.
In 2017, the Centre also signed an agreement with a working committee comprising six Naga national political groups.
Several tribal groups, including the combined ruling Naga People's Front-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, had submitted several memoranda and written appeals to the Election Commission seeking deferment of elections even before the poll dates were announced on 18 January.
"Holding of regular elections can only be stopped by means of a constitutional amendment and in consultation with the Election Commission, and it is recognized that interruptions of regular elections are acceptable only in extraordinary circumstances," they stated.
The Core Committee also reminded the Election Commission that the Nagaland Assembly had also adopted a resolution urging the Commission not to announce the elections until the Indian government arrived at an honorable and acceptable solution to the Naga issue.
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Is resolution of Naga insurgency in final stages?
By IndianMandarins - 2018-01-29 08:04:47
PM Narendra Modi is said to have been working hard on pulling off a surprise on the oldest insurgency in the country - very much like late PM Rajiv Gandhi did in June 1986 when he signed an accord with Mizo rebels led by Laldenga.
The first signals of an imminent formal accord with Naga rebels would start flashing if the Election Commission, in consultation with the government, accedes to the demand of the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTCHOC) to defer the 27 February assembly elections.
If the EC takes a different view, it may signal that the solution to the Naga insurgency is still a work in progress and it may not be suitable to postpone the state election at this point of time.
"The opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the Naga political issue has never been this favorable as the political negotiations are in advance stage and we cannot effort to distract the focus on the process at any cost," the Core Committee said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat.
Noting in the letter that prime minister Narendra Modi was very determined to resolve the Naga issue, the Committee said that the Indian government's interlocutor RN Ravi, along with the Naga negotiating teams, were also working hard and were committed to concluding the talks soon.
The core committee's stand seems to reflect the consensual opinion in Nagaland.
The separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Muivah (Issac-Muivah), which had signed the Framework Agreement to end Naga insurgency in August 2015 with the central government, had claimed that the decision to hold elections was bound to undermine the progress in the ongoing parleys.
In 2017, the Centre also signed an agreement with a working committee comprising six Naga national political groups.
Several tribal groups, including the combined ruling Naga People's Front-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, had submitted several memoranda and written appeals to the Election Commission seeking deferment of elections even before the poll dates were announced on 18 January.
"Holding of regular elections can only be stopped by means of a constitutional amendment and in consultation with the Election Commission, and it is recognized that interruptions of regular elections are acceptable only in extraordinary circumstances," they stated.
The Core Committee also reminded the Election Commission that the Nagaland Assembly had also adopted a resolution urging the Commission not to announce the elections until the Indian government arrived at an honorable and acceptable solution to the Naga issue.
