CNCCI taken aback by government’s silence over ban on sale of tobacco products

Mokokchung, March 15 (MTNews): The Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNCCI) on Wednesday said it was taken aback by the deafening silence of the State Government over the recent ban imposed on sale of tobacco by NSCN-K (Khango).

“While the CNCCI in no way endorses or promotes tobacco consumption, the CNCCI demands the state government to clarify whether it is a banned substance or legal product that are being sold in the market as GST are being collected from the sale of tobacco products,” CNCCI stated in a press release.

It said the state government must come out in public as to whether they are the authority to regulate such matters or is being delegated. “Further, the CNCCI dares the government to tell Naga people whose authority and governance should the Naga public follow. As there are such multiple and overlapping orders and bans contrary to the state government orders,” it added.

CNCCI said that in the eventuality of inability on the part of the state government to clarify on these matters, the business community will have no choice but to take it as a Governance failure in Nagaland.

Meanwhile, the CNCCI lauded the NSCN-K (Khango) for imposing a ban on illegal drugs “which is already banned internationally and Alcohol by the state government.”
It also asked the NSCN-K (Khango) to delist tobacco products from the purview of the ban as the tobacco products are being legally sold with proper license and after paying due sales tax in the form of GST to the state government.

It further stated that the business community supports the early settlement of Indo-Naga political issue and requested the various Naga political groups to direct their energy and resources towards it “as the business community have and will continue to extend our goodwill and full support to realize the goal of early Indo-Naga political settlement.”