Guwahati: Neiphiu Rio, the three-time incumbent chief minister of Nagaland is willing to sacrifice his chief minister’s chair in order to fulfil his dream of bringing peace in his state.
Rio came to power under the banner Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) having ousted SC Jamir’s Congress government in 2003, pledged to find a political solution to the Naga political problem by acting as a facilitator.
However, in spite of being in power for three consecutive terms, his frustration is evident from the stalemate in the “Naga peace process”, and he blames Congress party for the same.
“There is no future for Nagas in the Congress party. None of its leaders are willing to take challenge or pain to work for the interest of the Naga people”, Rio told Gulf News, sitting at his office in Kohima.
“There is no political will the present government has to resolve the Naga issue and the government interlocutor has moved out as the political leadership in the country has not been able to take a decision to resolve it,” he added.
New Delhi and the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland had entered into a ceasefire agreement in August 1997. The two have held more than 50 rounds of talks to end the insurgency that has led to the death of 25,000 people since 1947. But nothing has been achieved.
So Rio has decided to take his fight to the centre, and he is the consensus candidate of DAN, and its rainbow alliance, for the state’s lone parliamentary seat that goes for the polls on April 9. He has cobbled together 11 major regional parties under the banner of North East Regional Parties Forum (NERPF) and has stitched an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for peace and development in the region.
“I become chief minister to bring peace in the state. What is the point holding on to it if I am unable to do so? We have pledged our alliance with the NDA with the singular aim to ensure peace and development in the northeastern states. Everybody has witnessed the good work and the developmental projects initiated by Atal Behari Vajpayee government to develop our backward region,” Nagaland Chief Minister said.
Rio believes that if NDA government comes to power and he is given a cabinet portfolio, he would be able to vigorously pursue the issue. “If I am elected, I can push for the solution to the political problem. Naga movement is the mother of all insurgency problems in the Northeast. So, if you resolve it, you can resolve the others,” he observed.
