Kohima, Mar 31 (UNI): The regional party of Nagaland, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), has said that its decision to support Congress candidate K.L. Chishi in the upcoming Lok Sabha election was issue based, but decision will not change the stand of the party’s regionalism nor will it mean forging an alliance with the Congress.
In a press statement, the NPF said it had taken a stand give issue-based support to Congress candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha election and the party has agreed to go with the secular force candidate (Congress). It said during the NPF consultative meeting between the divisions, CEC, frontals and MLAs held at the central office, party president Shurhozelie Liezietsu said though the party had decided to lend support to the Congress, the decision is only for the upcoming election.
Shurhozelie said the NPF decided to garner all secular forces together and thereby take a stand to defend the future while raising concern over the eminent danger posed before the Naga people in the form of Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016) if passed as an Act by the Centre.
Observing that the NPF had not fielded its candidate and “the consequent reality the Congress alone cannot unseat the ruling PDA candidate”, Dr Shurhozelie said that “in politics sometime we find it necessary to uphold our super-consciousness forgetting the consequences that may follow but the issue confronting the Naga people at present is a question of life and death, therefore, the NPF will support the secular party (Congress).”
NPF legislature party leader, T.R. Zeliang in his speech echoed the same sentiment and said giving support to Congress in the ensuing LS election does not mean the party would have an alliance with them. The NPF will vote for Congress to defeat the NDPP candidate on the common issues of secularism, CAB and resolution of the Naga political issue, Zeliang stated.
Speaking on the seven NPF MLAs who deserted the party to support the Peoples’ Democratic Alliance Government and the NPF candidate who withdrew his candidature from the Aonglendeng bye-election, Zeliang said that these people had bargained the trust of the public and the party for their personal benefits. Castigating the statement issued by the seven NPF MLAs, the former chief minister said the development was not sudden but perpetuating for quite a long time and that they were looking for a pretext to leave the party.
It may be mentioned here that the seven NPF legislators were on March 25 issued on statement endorsing the PDA Government, were Kejong Chang, E.E. Pangteang, Eshak Konyak, C L John, B S Nganlang, N Thongwang Konyak and Toyang Chang. While C L John’s signature was not included in the joint statement, he issued a similar statement a day after.
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