The Nagaland cabinet urged the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) to reverse their call for a separate state and to participate in the upcoming assembly elections. They implored ENPO to consider the implications of their decision and the potential impact on the people of Nagaland.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Neiba Kronu announced that the state cabinet decided on Tuesday during a meeting.
“While extending our solidarity to the ENPO people, the state cabinet decided to appeal to them to reconsider their demand in the greater interest of the Naga people,” he said.
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, is scheduled to visit Nagaland on Friday. After this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make a trip to the state sometime after January 10. Following this visit, a decision is likely to be made on the demands of the citizens.
Asked if the cabinet has decided on any package for the ENPO areas, he said the discussions between the Centre and ENPO have to be made known to the state government, and only after that can some decision be taken by it.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) co-chairman Kuzholuzo Nienu said, “ENPO’s demand is a very important issue. But nevertheless, for the UDA government, the Naga Political Issue is still our priority, and we have decided to appeal to the Centre to expedite a solution to it.”
The cabinet has recommended an autonomous council which the ENPO has rejected, he said.
Nienu, the Minister of Home Affairs, has recently stated that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ruled the creation of a separate state out of Nagaland during their recent visit to the state.
“ENPO is looking for development and financial assistance, and the state government is fully ready for it,” he said.
Nienu insisted that the demand for genuineness should not come at the expense of further dividing the Nagas.
Since 2010, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) has been campaigning for the creation of a separate state of Frontier Nagaland. They allege that the four districts of eastern Nagaland have been subjected to severe neglect over the years. As a sign of protest, the six tribes that are part of ENPO refused to take part in the Hornbill Festival of December 2020 and also declared that they would not be participating in the forthcoming state elections scheduled to be held in February-March 2021.
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