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Prez Rule in Manipur was a right step; Nothing wrong taking another | Nirendra Dev, New Delhi

ByMOKOKCHUNG TIMES

Mar 18, 2025 #BJP, #Manipur, #Nagaland, #NDPP

BJP loves self-goals in Nagaland!

Why Neiphiu Rio is suddenly busy and what about meeting key leaders Sambit Patra and Himanta Biswa Sarma?

The NDPP was floated in 2017.  The party’s unwitting missteps gave chaos to the BJP in Nagaland and strife and extortion for people.

The ‘missteps’ started with Ram Madhav but misguided feeble actions continued.

So, is the honeymoon over or there will still be an extension of one sided-love?

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma played a savior to Neiphiu Rio and almost ‘murdered’ BJP’s growth prospects in 2022 as 40 seats were allotted to the NDPP for 2023 assembly election in Nagaland.

Should a Chief Minister show statesmanship or still behave like a parochial tribal leader?

The key missive is if Naga CM Rio helps solve Naga issue it will be huge ‘advantage Nagaland’.

One New Delhi-based northeast watcher summed up the paradox well.

“Rather than hiding behind unresolved Naga issue, CM Rio should take the challenge head on and deliver the Solution and peace pact. He may have the ability but he is not showing the required vision.”

Time, Rio emulates Late Hokishe Sema who had told A Z Phizo to be realistic.

If the bargain was to ensure an early Solution to the Naga issue vis-a-vis convincing NSCN-IM to realise the importance of a peace pact; the saffron party scored a zero!
Worse, they added insults to injuries.

The NDPP leadership in 2024 proposed a new negotiator and the intent being the good old Status Quo club agenda – delay and if necessary Derail the talks.
‘New negotiator’ demand meant a direct insult to Amit Shah !

In 2025 – the ruling party in alliance with the Lotus party even crossed the boundary of decency and played up the Naga Integration issue when the centre was struggling hard to ensure peace and harmony in Nagaland.

Opening up any Naga-Meitei conflict or even tension in Manipur is an highly ill-advised strategy at this juncture ?

The NDPP also threw a challenge to Amit Shah’s authority and planned an all-party delegation meet in Delhi (claimed with the Union Home Minister) to tell him that border fencing move was erroneous.

The shocker for NDPP came from ZPM of Mizoram when Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on the floor of the state assembly that even Mizoram state was being misused by foreign mercenaries to interfere in the internal matters of Myanmar. ZPM is not part of NDA.

Of late, even PAP issue has been flagged off. In Northeast India, a Protected Area Permit (PAP) is required for non-Indian citizens to visit certain areas, particularly border states like Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland, due to security concerns.

BJP MP and a trusted aide of the central leadership, Sambit Patra, was deputed to meet Chief Minister Rio. He held an one-on-one meeting, says a party insider and even party in-charge of the state Anil Antony was kept out.

There could be two theories related to such meetings –

One, Patra could have told Rio that his moves on Naga Integration, PAP, FMR along Myanmar were wrong and have not been taken lightly by the Home ministry. If so, the snub came from Delhi.
Second version is – Patra could be persuaded to behave like Nalin Kohli — see no evil and talk no evil. Even Himanta in 2022 went out of the way and struck a nasty deal of 20-40 seats (BJP-NDPP) only to give an upper hand to Chief Minister Neiphu Rio.

Several dedicated BJP leaders were forced to quit the party. Dr A Sukhato in Pughoboto and Kevechutso Doulo in Chizami were two promising leaders.

That Rio met Himanta on Sunday March 16th, in a private hotel in Guwahati was also vital. One official tweet from the CMO, Assam said – “The discussion focused on matters of mutual interest for Assam, Nagaland, and the entire Northeastern region, along with warm exchanges of greetings”.

Probably the clerk in Dispur forgot to mention the Ukraine-Russia war issue as well (sic) because both the chief ministers are capable of solving any problem under the sky except convince an aging rebel leader to see reason.

The Nagaland govt has claimed to have developed ‘efficiency’ in handling much bigger issues such as Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change.

Funding will come from God and so the rewards.

Nevertheless, the BJP has apparently started showing some movements and a former leader associated with the Eastern Nagaland demand issue has now joined the BJP.

Does BJP central leadership have a plan to capture Nagaland in 2028 via eastern Nagaland and the much talked about ambitious project called FNT?

In that case, not much of a miracle can be expected on Naga peace talks.

The NDPP leadership’s double standards have been exposed lately by the RPP, a political outfit with guts but not much resource to make it big electorally.

In fact, the RPP statement was quite harsh. It said: “The only tangible result of 28 years of peace-talks is to reduce the Naga political issue to a LAW AND ORDER situation”.

The RPP was more than candid when it stated that accusation has been raised from various quarters earlier “that the NDPP-led government is actually impeding Solution despite its public grandstanding”.

The RPP also said : “This is a pressing matter unlike the slogan ‘opposition-less government’ which is basically a byword for money laundering.”

What a pity! Such a big allegation has been made about a coalition govt that is run with the BJP as a key partner. Even the state deputy chief minister Y Patton is from BJP.

Next time Narendra Modi says – ‘Na khaata hoon, na Khane doonga’ – he will do well to translate the slogan into Nagamese.

Some BJP leaders in Nagaland will have to do soul searching. It is not really clear whether Nagas of Nagaland (as they vote for NDPP and also Congress candidate in Lok Sabha polls after a shady-deal) deserve Solution to Naga issue or not.

Thankfully, in the past and elsewhere in the country on several complex issues; PM Modi has displayed grace under pressure.

Modi has not been shy about taking big risks too.

Why should centre ignore an alliance partner do blatant hobnobbing with the Opposition?

Absence of corrective step in Nagaland will not help BJP achieve an improved socio-political atmosphere in Manipur.

President’s Rule in Manipur is a right step. Because the Chief Minister was ineffective.

There is nothing wrong taking two right steps.

(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of the books ‘The Talking Guns: North East India’, and ‘Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth’. Views expressed are personal)

By MOKOKCHUNG TIMES

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