Dimapur, October 17 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on Friday criticised the formal entry of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) into the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-led People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) government and the reported merger of the NDPP with its erstwhile parent party, the NPF, terming it “another masterstroke in headline management by a band of ideologically bankrupt leaders.”
In a press statement issued by its Communications Department, the NPCC said the only notable achievement of these leaders over the last twenty-three years “has been the remarkable frequency with which they have switched political allegiances, even floating new political parties on more than one occasion, all in the relentless pursuit of power.”
“The NPF’s entry into the PDA government means that Nagaland has once again earned the dubious distinction of being governed by an opposition-less government,” it stated. The NPCC said that the absence of a single legislator with the “moral and ethical fortitude to stand in opposition and represent the voice of the people is unfortunate enough,” adding that it was “even more tragic” that the development was being justified under the pretext of “facilitating the peace process.”
“This is the time for accountability, not for indulging in or recycling rhetorical sloganeering,” the statement asserted.
Referring to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s earlier promise to deliver a “Naga Political Solution” within three months of coming to power twenty-three years ago, the NPCC said, “It would do him and his cohorts well to realise that the familiar jumlabaazi they are attempting to pull off once again will not work, because the people of Nagaland can now see through the smokescreen.”
The Congress said the people were “living through the devastating consequences of twenty-three years of utter incompetence, corruption, and failure.”
The NPCC added that regardless of whether the government is led by the NDPP, the NPF, or their merged form, “the outcome will remain the same—the continuation of a regime that epitomises systemic corruption and one that has consistently supported and facilitated the divisive policies of the BJP, both at the Centre and in the State.”
.JPG)
