HT Digital
KOHIMA, Mar 23: The Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), an umbrella organization comprising seven groups, has urged the Nagaland government to take decisive action and ensure that the Centre informs the Supreme Court about the current status of Naga peace talks.
The appeal comes in response to the Supreme Court’s recent directive regarding the delimitation process in the state, following its decision to grant the Centre three months to conduct the delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland.
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The NNPGs, which had signed an Agreed Position pact with the Central government to find a political solution to the long-standing Naga issue, have expressed concerns that the Centre has yet to present the status of the negotiations before the court. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, the NNPGs alleged that despite the political negotiations concluding on October 31, 2019, the Centre has not informed the judiciary about the agreements made during the peace process.
According to the letter, one of the key agreements reached in 2019 was the proposal to increase the number of seats in the Nagaland Assembly from the existing 60 to 80, allowing representation for all 17 Naga tribes in both the House and the state Cabinet. Furthermore, the number of Lok Sabha seats allocated to Nagaland was to be increased from one to three. The NNPGs insist that these commitments must be respected and reflected in any future political and administrative decisions affecting the state.
The group has demanded that the state government intervene to halt the delimitation process and convey the sentiments of the Naga people to the Centre. The NNPGs assert that any move to proceed with the delimitation exercise without considering the agreed-upon political solutions would undermine the historical and political commitments made in the peace talks.
In addition to concerns over delimitation, the NNPGs also raised an issue regarding a pending case in the Guwahati High Court. They noted that a division bench is scheduled to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on March 24, which challenges the constitutionality of the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules and Regulations. According to the NNPGs, these regulations were developed as part of the peace process, and any court ruling on them could complicate the ongoing political settlement.
As a facilitator of the Naga peace talks, the Nagaland government must ensure that the Supreme Court and the Guwahati High Court are made aware that certain subjects under legal review are integral to the peace agreements, the NNPGs stated in their letter. They emphasized that some of these matters have already been settled politically and should not be reopened for legal scrutiny, as this could derail the progress made so far.
