While appreciating the state government for removing check gates inside Nagaland, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has demanded removal of the interstate check gates in view of GST and VAT.
NPCC president K Therie in a press release said that the prices have not fallen despite the closure of check gates and that more actions are required to bring down the price hike. Claiming that “Internal gate extortions were only transferred to wholesalers and retailers,” Therie said that the basis of price hike is compounded with “corruption and extortion by all the organs, agencies, registered societies, unions, associations, and insurgents.”
He stated that the Essential Commodities Act and Weights and Measures Act that sustain prices are no longer known to the people. “Illegal extortion by societies and insurgents are deeply rooted and has replaced the law in Nagaland. State Government has lost control for the past two decades. Extortion and corruption are firmly rooted from top to bottom. No one is fit to throw the first stone,” he added.
Therie also said “hundreds of Societies, Unions and Associations are taking law and order into their own hands by undertaking enforcement upon soft targets from amongst the traders” and added that there is “complete freedom of abusing and intimidating business houses and retailers.”
Therie further said that law and order has collapsed in Nagaland. “The executive machineries do not go by the book of law. They go by verbal dictates of Ministers and MLAs,” he wrote, added that the State Legislative Assembly’s failures are mighty and that no new laws to deal with an evolving society and the growth of economy have been passed.
He also pointed out that coordinated efforts in enforcing law and customary laws are no more the practice and that they rather confront each other. He said that Village Councils and GBs are expected to deal with law and order effectively with customary laws and procedures but many support unlawful activities while administration remain a mute spectator.
He said that upon failure of customary law, it is the responsibility of the Administration to enforce the law of the land but they end up blaming each other and the public are left unprotected in between.
He also blamed civil society organizations and NGOs who make hue and cry in local papers but finally seek party tickets from the very ones they criticize. “Instead of despising bribe takers, people praise and pray for them. This is the heights of hypocrisy of corruption,” he added.
“The Church well understands the predicament therefore the clean election campaign. Who does not want that? … Now voters want to take directly from candidates and so demand house to house visits defying the Church,” he wrote.
He also mentioned that the Judiciary has earned a huge trust deficit. “If the judiciary cannot deliver justice, we are inviting dictatorship, mafias and organized criminals to do justice,” Therie said.
He also said that if the government really mean to bring down prices, “there is a requirement to amend the attitude of Government machineries, guardians of Customary Law, Civil Societies, Unions, Associations and particularly the Judiciary and Police should work together in the interests of safety and security to life and properties to the citizens. They must coordinate to implement common objectives in enforcing the law of the land.”
He appealed to the Administration, Police and Judiciary to work together to restore law and order and control price hike by forming independent pricing commission with taxes, weights and measures and other departments and agencies concerned. He went on to say that illegal collections, extortions and unauthorized groups taking law into their own hands should be stopped.