‘Self-declaration’ form asked by Gov: CM

July 28, 2020 269 Views No Comment

Correspondent KOHIMA, JUL 27 (NPN) : Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio has gone on record to hold Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi responsible for making the state government to issue the Office Memorandum( OM) on July 7, to all Administrative Heads of Departments (AHoDs) and Heads of Departments (HoDs) seeking information from employees on whether any one among their family are members of underground outfits.

Speaking to media after a cabinet meeting at the civil secretariat premises here Monday, Rio disclosed that the first directive from Raj Bhavan seeking the relevant information was received on February 14 with deadline set on or before April 12.

Further the chief minister said when the state government did not respond, the Governor’s office again send a reminder on June 24.

Rio said since the state government was left with no option and against the backdrop of the letter from the Governor which stated that law and order had collapsed in the state, the state government eventually issued the OM on July 7, 2020.

He also said that the government had also issued a clarification this matter.

The chief minister also clarified that the state government did not want any confrontation with Raj Bhavan on the issue especially as there was need to work together for bringing a permanent settlement to the Naga political issue and which was also a desire of the people.

It may be recalled that the government had on July 7 directed all administrative heads and heads of departments to obtain information from all employees about their relatives serving in underground groups in a self-declaration form.

On Naga political issue: The chief minister also said both ruling coalition and opposition party had come together under the banner of Joint Legislators’ Forum (JLF) on the Naga political issue. He said “we are one and there are no differences between us” over the issue.

On COVID cases: On the spike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in Nagaland, Rio said it was not restricted to Nagaland but occurred in all states including nations across the world.

The chief minister explained that though COVID-19 cases were on the rise, yet most of the patients were asymptomatic and some with mild cases. However, both were being taken care of.

He also said it was unfortunate that five persons had died, but maintained that some of them were “very old” and some had contracted the virus outside the State.

On some of the missteps while containing spread of COVID-19, Rio claimed the State’s frontline workers were on the job and the few lapses had been corrected.

On Lockdowns: The chief minister said the High Powered Committee (HPC) had empowered the district committees to decide on lockdowns and containment of wards and colonies as the committees were in a position to identify local situations.

Rio said the High Powered Committee (HPC) was formed due to the huge number of returnees and that since overcrowding of returnees had lessened, the government had fully authorised the DTFs to take appropriate steps at the district level. He also said the chief secretary and DG Police have been directed to extend all possible help to the districts.

Lauding the community support due to which many issues could be controlled, Rio said the only way to contain the virus was to follow Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), maintain social distancing, wear face masks and observe personal hygiene.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/-self-declaration-form-asked-by-gov-cm/219763.html