Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said he and his Manipur counterpart, Okram Ibobi Singh, will jointly oppose any move by the Centre to accede to NSCN (IM)'s demand for territorial integration of Naga- inhabited areas of Assam and Manipur with Nagaland. The duo had earlier blocked such a move during the NDA government's tenure.
The NSCN (IM) wants to carve out a greater Nagaland by including all Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam and Arunchal Pradesh to the present state of Nagaland. "I welcome a solution with NSCN (IM) but without territorial integration of Naga-inhabited areas of Assam or other states," Gogoi said here on Friday. He added that the Centre didn't hold any consultation with the state government in this regard.
Twelve years ago, when the then NDA government had first consulted Assam and Manipur on the NSCN (IM) demand for territorial integration of Naga-inhabited areas, Gogoi and Singh had jointly blocked the Centre's move. "We will block any such move by the Centre again," he added.
When pointed out that the constitution allows redrawing the state's boundaries, Gogoi said, "We (Gogoi and Singh) have fought against it and we will continue to fight against it."
Gogoi added that he is sympathetic to his Nagaland counterpart Nephiu Rio's expectation of Centre's nod to at least 'emotional integrity' of Naga people living outside Nagaland in its neighbouring states if not territorial integrity.
The Naga peace talks are believed to be nearing a solution, which has created speculation in Assam and Manipur over the territorial integration issue - a prime demand of NSCN (IM). Manipur has formed a cabinet sub-committee headed by chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh to monitor the final stages of Naga peace talks.
The NSCN (IM) wants to carve out a greater Nagaland by including all Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam and Arunchal Pradesh to the present state of Nagaland. "I welcome a solution with NSCN (IM) but without territorial integration of Naga-inhabited areas of Assam or other states," Gogoi said here on Friday. He added that the Centre didn't hold any consultation with the state government in this regard.
Twelve years ago, when the then NDA government had first consulted Assam and Manipur on the NSCN (IM) demand for territorial integration of Naga-inhabited areas, Gogoi and Singh had jointly blocked the Centre's move. "We will block any such move by the Centre again," he added.
When pointed out that the constitution allows redrawing the state's boundaries, Gogoi said, "We (Gogoi and Singh) have fought against it and we will continue to fight against it."
Gogoi added that he is sympathetic to his Nagaland counterpart Nephiu Rio's expectation of Centre's nod to at least 'emotional integrity' of Naga people living outside Nagaland in its neighbouring states if not territorial integrity.
The Naga peace talks are believed to be nearing a solution, which has created speculation in Assam and Manipur over the territorial integration issue - a prime demand of NSCN (IM). Manipur has formed a cabinet sub-committee headed by chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh to monitor the final stages of Naga peace talks.
No comments:
Post a Comment