KOHIMA, 16 May: The Nagaland government on Thursday appealed to the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) to reconsider its decision not to participate in the urban local body (ULB) elections.
The ENPO, the apex body of seven Naga tribes of the region, has been demanding a separate state since 2010, claiming that six districts in the eastern part of Nagaland have been neglected for years.
The appeal from the government comes after the ENPO sent a letter to the state election commission (SEC), apprising the poll panel of its decision to abstain from participating in the ULB elections on 26 June.
“During the state Cabinet meeting today, the government has once again appealed to the ENPO and its constituent bodies to participate in the ULB elections, which are being conducted on the directions of the Supreme Court after the prolonged legal battle on women’s reservation in ULBs in the state for the larger interest of the public and their welfare,” state minister KG Kenye told reporters here.
The people of Eastern Nagaland had on 19 March reaffirmed their commitment to the ‘Chenmoho Resolution’,
wherein it was resolved “not to participate in any central and state election due to the delay to create the Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT) as assured by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) on 7 December, 2023.”
The ENPO had abstained from the 19 April Lok Sabha elections with no voter turning out in the six districts of the eastern part of the state.
Despite numerous reminders through letters and public rallies, the MHA did not pay heed to the ENPO’s demand, the organisation alleged.
“This was why, the Eastern Nagaland people felt compelled to take this course of action as a means of expressing their collective discontent,” the ENPO said.
The organisation said also that its decision not to participate in civic body elections is “not intended as an act of defiance against the electoral machinery or the principles of democracy, but rather a principled stance taken within the framework of the Constitution of India and aimed at drawing attention to the legitimate grievances and aspirations of the eastern Nagaland people.”
On the issue of the Centre’s decision to scrap the free movement regime (FMR) along the India-Myanmar border, a long stretch of which falls in Nagaland, Kenye said that the state Assembly has already passed a resolution in this regard and requested the Centre to reconsider it.
The Centre has decided to fence the India-Myanmar border and withdraw the FMR with the neighbouring country.
The FMR allows people to cross up to 16 kms on both sides of the international border. (PTI)
