Dimapur, Feb 28 The Congress Legislature Party has turned down the “Naga consultative meeting”, convened by the chief minister citing reasons that the Congress was not taken into confidence “before conceptualizing the meet”.
“Whereas a consultative meeting is purported to have been convened by the hon’ble CM of Nagaland under the aegis of ‘Naga Consultative Meeting’ and whereas the INC Legislature are required to attend the said meeting, the CLP in its emergency meeting held at New Delhi on 27th of February, 2009 has after detailed deliberation resolved its inability to attend and express our regret…” stated a message from the CLP, appended by parliamentary secretary to CLP, C Apok Jamir.
The reason the CLP gave was that the DAN Government did not take into confidence the Leader of the Opposition, the president of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee and other important leaders “before conceptualising the meet”.
The “working papers/concept paper” and “the agenda of the meeting” were not circulated along with the invitation cards, the Congress stated.
“That a major political party such as INC has been kept in darkness which can be considered as ignorance of the party as a whole. As such we have taken the stand that the Indian National Congress can not be taken only for a joyride and blindly follow some other political adversary who are having their own hidden agendas” the CLP said.
Presuming that it has broad-based intentions, the Congress said, the reasons for having to convene such a meet ought to have been consulted first.
“It has been the consistent and clear stand of the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee that the Naga political problem has to be resolved through peaceful and democratic means.
The INC of Nagaland had pledged in their respective manifestos to strive for a final political settlement which should be honorable and acceptable to all sections of the Naga society” the Congress said. It affirmed that the NPCC continues to uphold the same policy.
The Congress wishes the government the best “to your deliberations”.
However, the CLP has expressed sincere appreciation to the efforts for Naga Unity initiated by the churches and other Civil Society for reconciliation and towards finding a final settlement of the Indo-Naga political issue.