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Nagaland again opts for an Opposition-less government
The decision was taken in a meeting held at the residential office of chief minister Neiphiu Rio with representatives of all political parties involved.
The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a major ally of the government, and the opposition Naga People’s Front (NPF) agreed in principle to form an opposition-less “Nagaland United Government” along with two Independent legislators on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said.
The decision was taken in a meeting held at the residential office of chief minister Neiphiu Rio with representatives of all political parties involved.
When asked about the new development, state BJP president Temjen Imna Along said “we are in positive consultation” without divulging further details.
On July 19, the NPF had passed a resolution for an all-party government and endorsed it to the chief minister for necessary consideration in the interest of the Naga political solution.
Although Nagaland’s legislators are not directly involved in the peace talks, subsequent elected members, across party lines, over the years have held ground that they would play a facilitating role for settlement of the Indo-Naga issue.
This is not the first time that the state is going to have an opposition-less government. During the third tenure of the NPF-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland in 2015, Congress MLAs had joined the government and subsequently merged with the ruling NPF.
However, this time the NPF MLAs asserted that they would not merge with any party. “We are talking about an all-party government, a coalition, where we will maintain our respective party ideologies,” a senior NPF legislator said, wishing not to be named.
Recently, the Nagaland government had formed a parliamentary committee comprising all 60 members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and two MPs, led by chief minister Rio, deputy chief minister Y Patton and opposition leader TR Zeliang to act as facilitators in the ongoing peace talks between the Centre and Naga armed groups.
On August 3, the assembly passed a resolution, appealing to all Naga political groups to unite to expedite the peace process while urging negotiating parties of the Indo-Naga political issue to resume talks with a positive approach.
The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 1997 and the two have been holding political dialogues since then, while a conglomeration of seven different Naga national political groups (NNPGs) also got into separate talks with the Centre in 2017.
The Centre signed a “framework agreement” with NSCN (IM) in 2015, and an “agreed position” with the NNPGs in 2017.
While it is largely claimed that negotiations have concluded, the NSCN (IM)’s demand for a separate Naga flag and constitution has been a delaying factor in signing a final deal on the Naga peace process.
