NPCC ridicules Home Minister on conflicting statement
Dimapur, June 21 (MExN): The Opposition Nagaland Congress has stated that the “self-conflicting Home Minister had failed to differentiate between political prisoners and National Security Act (NSA) and therefore, he should step down on moral ground, else, the chief minister should drop him from his Council of Ministers”.
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has ridiculed Nagaland Home Minister Imkong Imchen’s “foot in the mouth syndrome” pointing out that it has now “relapsed as evident from his conflicting statement”. A press note from the NPCC issued by Media Cell chairman R. Paphino and member Dr K. Hoshi stated that the National Security Act (NSA) was an internal law of India which is used under extra-ordinary situation and circumstances when the country is put under threat due to internal disturbances caused by unlawful activities, be it by ordinary citizens or underground activists.
The NPCC stated that the “underground cadres had been arrested and booked under NSA on specific criminal charges like extortion, threat, abduction, killing, raping, etc”. “It is ridiculous that the Home Minister, by stating that the underground cadres arrested under NSA for criminal activities should be absolved from criminal charges”, stated the NPCC. In other words, according to the NPCC, the Home Minister had classified the underground cadres arrested for “isolated criminal activities as political prisoners the moment they landed in jail”. The NPCC pointed out that it would have been “much easier had he said the jail inmates of the underground cadres should be given special treatment”.
The NPCC also observed that it was obvious that the cadres of the underground on Cease-fire agreement with Government of India arrested for criminal activities amounted to violation of Cease-fire ground rules. “Political prisoners’ status is applicable only in war times between two or more recognized sovereign nations at war when enemy soldiers are taken as prisoners”, stated the NPCC.
