Chumoukedima, 3 June (MTNews): The Ex-Parliamentarians Association of Nagaland has urged for urgent implementation of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) and finalization of ‘Indo-Naga Political Settlement’ during a General Body Meeting held at Niathu Resort, Chumukedima, on 31 May last.
The Association during the meeting made two critical resolutions. In the first resolution, the Ex-PAN expressed appreciation for the Government of Nagaland’s initiation of the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) to address the inflow of illegal migrants and immigrants into the state. The Commission on RIIN, established by the State government, had submitted its recommendations and findings to the government over a year ago. The house emphasized the urgent need for the State government to sincerely implement RIIN without any further delays. It stressed the importance of maintaining the cut-off date of 1 December 1963 as diluting this date would adversely affect the future of Nagaland’s indigenous citizens.
“Under no circumstances, be it internal or external, should the cut-off date and year be diluted in any way whatsoever,” the Ex-PAN resolved.
Regarding the second resolution, the Ex-PAN highlighted the completion of political negotiations between the Government of India and the Naga negotiating groups, namely the NSCN (IM) and the Working Committee (WC) of the 7 NNPGs, which concluded on 31 October 2019.
However, the association noted that the signing of the final agreement between the negotiating parties remains pending. The house, therefore, urged the Government of India to call upon all Naga negotiating parties to honor the completed negotiations and sign the final agreement within a set deadline.
“The protracted process of political negotiations has taken an immense toll on the lives and welfare of the people of Nagaland,” the association stated, adding that 26 years of political talks and negotiations is more than enough time for any issue to be resolved.
Therefore, the Ex-PAN emphasized the need to conclude the process and declare its success or failure, as leaving it indefinitely unresolved is no longer acceptable.