By Nirendra Dev
“The people of Meghalaya are fed up with corruption and the slow pace of development in their state. The people are suffering due to poor rural roads, power cuts for long hours and lack of basic facilities,”
BJP leader Rituraj Sinha said in Delhi during ticket distribution of saffron party tickets for Meghalaya and Nagaland.
What about helpless Nagaland ?
It’s a topsy turvy situation. Jokes went viral on social media protesting BJP’s decision to tie up and readily play second fiddle to NDPP – a party that has been grossly inefficient and also ‘questionable’ in terms of clean administration.
One refrain was — “…. the NPF should merge with NDPP, ….NDPP should merge with BJP….and
‘at least Nagaland BJP’ can easily merge with the Congress….”.
Others thought the AAP of Arvind Kejriwal should work hard to do extremely well ! There was no major surprise in BJP’s list of candidates for Nagaland notwithstanding the immense
loss of credibility and image suffered by its aggressive and yet non performing alliance partner NDPP.
The list released by saffron party leaders at the party headquarters tantamount to gross appeasement of the NDPP — for no solid reason or rhyme. The NDPP and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio came under fire by veterans S C Jamir and K L Chishi close on the heels of central government decision to give away
‘Autonomous Council’ to Eastern Nagaland.
The demand and centre’s decision to endorse the same in more ways than one express ‘No Confidence’
in Rio’s leadership and administration, yet the party top guns including PM Narendra Modi showed faith in an outfit of sheer opportunists also facing corruption charges.
This is a rarest case of poll management by a party of poll experts. A ‘liability’ leader that is Chief Minister Rio is now the face of India’s ruling party.
How much the ‘friendship’ of two former Congress leaders and now Chief Ministers of Assam and
Nagaland played a role in cementing the NDPP-BJP bond will be judged only in days and weeks to come.
“…..today it was as a result of neglect by the present (Nagaland) Govt, and they (people and leaders
of Eastern Nagaland) were compelled to approach directly the GoI for a separate state, and ultimately
the “present arrangement was made even without routing through the elected government”
.. It speaks volumes about the status and image of the state under Rio,” laments veteran S C Jamir, who also served as Gujarat Governor.
Jamir has served with all Indian Prime Ministers since Nehru’s time and himself a Congressman. But Jamir had exuded confidence that a man with ‘guts’ like PM Modi — whom he has seen from close range in Gujarat- could attend to pressing problems of Nagaland.
Urgent political solution to the Naga problem and strict actions against corruption and extortion are among a few things the people of Nagaland wish to get.
Jamir also lamented in a statement on Wednesday/Feb 1: “In the name of integration, trend had
already set in for disintegration. Nagaland will no more be the same unless a drastic change is made
in all departments of administration even including polity.”
“Let us all wish all the best for the Frontier Nagaland Autonomous Council. But under the present
political dispensation the future of Nagaland is bleak”.
The BJP had won 12 seats in Nagaland in 2018 and only two in Meghalaya. In the latter stage,
it has decided to contest all 60 constituencies and has practically dumped Conrad Sangma-led
NPP; but in Nagaland, it is readily playing second fiddle to Rio.
Moreover, the BJP allowed itself to play passive and also gave away two winnable seats Chizami and Pughoboto. In the bargain, the saffron party was handed over two seats in urban pockets which the party will find it extremely difficult to perform.
Former Chief Minister K L Chishi had said – “Chief Minister Rio is solely responsible and therefore owning responsibility (for virtual disintegration of Eastern Nagaland) he should voluntarily resign admitting his weakness and fault and sense of favouritism and nepotism.”
Chishi also lamented that – “The episode (autonomous council) is an unfortunate culmination of the utter negligence of the Neiphiu Rio government since 2003.
“The Chief Minister has amassed wealth from the funds meant for the development and for equitable distributionof funds for the state and people of Nagaland with particular reference to developments of areas of Eastern Nagaland region.”
Interestingly at the same press conference in Delhi, BJP’s Rituraj Sinha said, “The central schemes are not being implemented in the state (Meghalaya)… People trust that PM Modi can give corruption-free, fast-track development.”