KOHIMA, April 16: Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday asserted that the INDIA bloc led by the grand old party will resolve the decades-old Naga peace talks if voted to power at the Centre.
Addressing an election rally in Dimapur in support of party nominee S Supongmeren Jamir for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland, the AICC general secretary dubbed the ruling NDPP as “no direction propaganda party” and the BJP as “Bahut Jhoothi Party”, accusing both of failing to deliver to the people.
He accused the BJP and RSS of attacking the country’s pluralism and diverse cultures by undermining the Constitution.
“If voted to power, the Congress-led INDIA bloc will resolve the Naga peace talks. The Framework Agreement was signed in 2015 but nothing has happened in the last nine years. Nobody has seen the contents of the agreement. The Framework Agreement is nothing but Modi’s jumla,” he alleged.
“It was the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi that signed accords in Assam, Mizoram and Punjab. If the people of Nagaland send Jamir to Parliament, the Congress will resolve the Naga issue to people’s satisfaction,” Surjewala said.
He said that it was the Congress that had implemented Article 371A of the Constitution which protects the Naga culture, customary law and practices, and ownership of land and property, “but the BJP wants to change the Constitution”.
The Congress MP alleged that constitutional ethos of the country, including pluralism, diversity and secularism, were under attack from the BJP and RSS and it was the responsibility of everyone to rise together and prevent the society from being divided.
“The BJP, along with its multiple allies, is propagating a culture of hated and division in the country by attacking the diversity and cultures of Indians. The Constitution is the repository of diversity, pluralism and secularism for the Congress but it is under attack by the BJP. India’s leaders have laid down their lives so that each one of us can live in this land freely in a cohesive manner,” he said.
He claimed that there are two models in the country at present.
“The BJP-Modi model is to dictate, impose, force, intimidate, while the Congress model is of compassion, love, dialogue, listening and finding solutions,” he asserted.
Attacking the ruling NDPP-BJP alliance in the state, he said that in the 2023 Nagaland Assembly polls, they gave the slogan “election for solution” but today, the NDPP stands for “no direction propaganda party” while BJP is “Bahut Jhoothi Party”.
“They both don’t have any direction and are unable to deliver to the masses. People of Nagaland and India will not allow them to continue to play with the state and country,” he said.
Surjewala claimed that NDPP-BJP candidate Chumben Murry wouldn’t be in a position to raise voice on issues concerning Nagaland, such as Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Uniform Civil Code of cancellation of Free Movement Regime with Myanmar.
Jamir said his rival candidate Chumben Murry “is very good as a person but he is an ally of RSS and BJP, which is very bad”.
“If elected, I will raise voices of Nagas in Parliament,” he said.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge was also scheduled to address the rally but could not due to certain medical emergencies, Congress leaders said.
Polling for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland will be held in the first phase on April 19. (PTI)
