Breaking News: ‘Elections have to be held on schedule… don’t want to link it with the talks’, says Govt of India

January 11, 2018 901 Views No Comment

Naga Republic News

As reported in The Naga Republic as early as November 3, 2017 (Is Nagaland heading for election and not solution?), the upcoming Nagaland Assembly Election will be held as scheduled with the Election Commission of India all set to officially announce the dates any time soon.

The prospect of a political settlement happening before election has all but disappeared with the two top officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India stating the obvious—that elections will be held as scheduled.

The official Twitter account of the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh put out a statement clarifying what he had told the Nagaland Chief Minister: that announcing the dates for assembly elections is the prerogative of the election Commission and the elections have to be held on schedule. “Any reports to the contrary are incorrect”, the statement clarified.

Earlier the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Government of Nagaland had issued a statement dated January 10 and widely reported in the media that Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh had assured Nagaland Chief Minister, T.R. Zeliang that a meeting on the demand of the Naga people for a “solution before election” would be convened by the Union Minister and convey the outcome of the meeting to the Nagaland government.

Another twitter statement from the Union Home Minister reads: “The chief minister of Nagaland called on the HM in New Delhi yesterday. He presented to the HM his suggestions for a solution to Naga issue. HM told him that the negotiations of various Naga groups with the interlocutor will continue”.

The Naga Republic had earlier reported that in order to bring about an inclusive solution, the Naga talks between the Government of India and different Naga Political Groups was likely to take more time.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, the BJP’s election in charge for Nagaland, has told a national newspaper that the Government of India “does not want to link talks with the NSCN (IM) to the elections”.

When asked on how, as the election in charge for Nagaland, he proposed to shape the poll campaign, Rijiju termed the upcoming election in Nagaland as “special and challenging as talks are going on…”

The Minister of State who hails from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh also pointed out that as talks are going on many people were expecting that it would “conclude fast and the election process to start thereafter”. “We don’t want to link the talks with elections. Elections are a democratic process”, Rijiju said.

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To bring about inclusive solution, Naga talks likely to take more time