Nagaland polls 2023 | PM Modi cheated people on Naga political issue, alleges Congress

Naga identity is in conflict with the BJP mission to recast indigenous cultures with the RSS agenda, said Congress president Kharge at a rally near Dimapur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cheated the people of Nagaland on the vexed ‘Naga political issue’ by not giving shape to a 2015 agreement and extending the contentious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) after the Oting massacre, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on February 21. 

The Centre had signed the Framework Agreement with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in August 2015 for resolving the “Naga political issue” pertaining to the peace process. A botched ambush by an elite unit of the Army led to the death of 15 people in Mon district’s Oting in December 2021. 

Also Read | Nagaland polls 2023 | BJP national spokesperson battling anti-incumbency, dissidence as he seeks third term

Addressing an election meeting for Nagaland Congress president K. Therie, Mr. Kharge said the Modi Government in Delhi “does not have the political will” to put the agreed solutions into effect. 

The BJP-led government has been delaying the solution to the State’s issues despite setting deadlines besides ignoring the Oting incident to continue to declare Nagaland as a disturbed area and extend the AFSPA, he said. 

“Prime Minister Modi announced on August 3, 2015, that the Naga issue has been resolved with the signing of the Framework Agreement. Nearly eight years down the line, this has become an empty boast,” Mr. Kharge said. 

Also Read | Settle Naga political issue before polls: 15 tribal bodies