ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government has for the first time objected to the formation of a Naga political party in the state. Home minister Takar Marde, during his whirlwind tour of the trouble-torn districts of Tirap and Changlang recently, denied the existence of any regional party by the name of Naga People's Party of Arunachal and opposed the formation of any, official sources said here on Saturday.
Addressing a series of public meetings in interior administrative circles of the twin districts, Marde clarified that the people of Arunachal respect their brothers and sisters in Nagaland, but will not accept any attempt to create a regional political party based on cultural affinity between the two states. He appealed to all divisive forces to refrain from such activities, sources said. In one of the meetings, Marde assured that the central and state governments are closely monitoring prevailing law and order situation in both the districts.
Minister for power, forest & environment Setong Sena, who accompanied Marde in the tour, appreciated the bold steps taken up by the home minister to keep insurgency at bay in the region.
Lamenting the fact that only five or six persons have qualified in civil and other allied services from the districts, he pointed out that lack of education was behind most of the problems of the area.