Kept in the dark about peace accord : Nagaland MP Keyne

Four years after a peace accord was signed by the union government with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) [NSCN-IM], the lone Member of parliament from Nagaland, KG Kenye says the state is “in the dark” about the specifics of the 2015 deal.

Kenye is the Secretary General of the Nagaland People’s Front, a former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The alliance between the two sides was called off just ahead of the assembly election in the state in January 2018.

Speaking to HT, Kenye said though his party supports the centre’s initiative for ending the protracted conflict in Nagaland; the “grey area” of being kept in the dark about the contents of the accord are now prevailing over.

The delay in disclosing the details of the peace accord he said has “created space for unwarranted social and political entities” who do not augur well for peace in Nagaland and the North Eastern region.

“This suspense is not auguring well for the state as well as the region. The unwarranted social and political elements that have crept in will be difficult to get rid of…In the name of freedom there are all kinds of illegal taxes being collected, extortions rackets being run and social menaces prevailing,” he told HT.

Speaking in the upper house last week during the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Kenye had noted that the peace accord issue was not mentioned in the address. He also pointed that MPs from Nagaland in the last 55 years have “not even taken one hour” of Rajya Sabha for raising issues.

On whether his party has taken up the issue with the centre, Kenye said: “We have faith in the government, but we are in the dark about the term of reference. In 2014 when the [Narendra] Modi government was first sworn in; it showed resolve to solve the pending issue in the shortest possible time, but this delay will have a cascading effect on the peace in the region.”

While the NPF supports the BJP’s bid to create a National Register of Citizens; it is vehemently opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Bill. “Why do we need more people in the country; are we short of people and working hands? Will policy decisions be taken by outsiders?” Kenye said, underlining that his party will fight the CAB.

The other issue that the NPF wants the Modi government to take up is ensuring the safety of minorities and protecting their rights. “That [safety of minorities] is one area where they have failed miserably. The one that national leaders have to accept is that diversity lies at the core of this nation’s foundation, and despite partition [in 1947] on religious lines, the architects of the constitution chose India to be a secular nation,” Kenye said.