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Sonia parading NE CMs to undermine Naga peace accord: Rijiju

Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was bent upon derailing the peace process that the NDA government initiated for the northeast by signing the Naga accord earlier this month.

Updated on: Aug 8, 2015, 20:22:40 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Guwahati
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Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was bent upon derailing the peace process that the NDA government initiated for the northeast by signing the Naga accord earlier this month.

Minister-of-state-for-home-affairs-Kiren-Rijiju-at-an-event-in-New-Delhi-Sonu-Mehta-HT-Photo
Minister-of-state-for-home-affairs-Kiren-Rijiju-at-an-event-in-New-Delhi-Sonu-Mehta-HT-Photo



He also said the framework agreement between New Delhi and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) was far from final, and opinions of all stakeholders would be incorporated before it is drawn up.



Rijiju attacked Gandhi after a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the regional office of National Investigation Agency (NIA) at Tepesia, about 20 km east of Guwahati, on Saturday.



“The Congress president paraded three chief ministers of the northeast in New Delhi to undermine the Naga peace accord despite knowing that all stakeholders would be consulted before the final agreement is drawn up. These chief ministers had welcomed the accord but made a U-turn at the behest of their party chief” Rijiju said.



Nabam Tuki, Tarun Gogoi and Okram Ibobi Singh, the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, had converged in New Delhi on Friday to dare the Modi government to make the accord public. They also vowed to protect the territorial integrity of their respective states.



One of the preconditions of the NSCN-IM for a peace deal was bringing all Naga-inhabited areas under one administrative area. These areas are scattered across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur.



“The framework agreement was signed because our priority was to bring peace to the region. We have been telling the states concerned that they would be taken into confidence before the contents of the agreement are finalised,” Rijiju said.



He insisted the NDA government had no agenda of putting the Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur under pressure with the Naga accord.



NIA success rate more than 90%



Rijiju on Saturday patted NIA for being the “world’s finest investigation agency” with a success rate of more than 90%.



“The need for such an agency was felt after the Mumbai attack in 2008. The NIA proved us right and defied its age to become the world’s best,” Rijiju said.



He added the northeast needs NIA the most because of the nature of violence and the ease with which miscreants take shelter in other states and neighbouring countries after terror strikes.




NIA director general Sharad Kumar attributed his organisation’s rate of solving cases to teamwork. He said the agency has set a 24-month deadline for its regional office and residential complex, estimated to cost Rs 33 crore, to be completed.

  • Rahul Karmakar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Rahul Karmakar

    Rahul Karmakar was part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers. He no longer works with the Hindustan Times.

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