Congress prioritises permanent peace in Nagaland, vows to address Indo-Naga political issue

KOHIMA: Ensuring permanent peace in the Northeast state of Nagaland is among the top issues that the Congress party intends to accomplish, if it wrests power from the BJP to form a government at the Centre following the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

This was stated by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Further speaking on the Congress party’s poll planks for Nagaland, the Jairam Ramesh said that these include unity, protection of article 371-A, job creation and the preservation of democracy.

Ramesh criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) agenda, alleging that while the saffron party advocate for concepts like “one nation, one election” and “one nation, one tax,” their true long-term objective is “one nation, one language, one religion, one culture”.

He asserted that this agenda threatens the country’s unity in diversity, contrasting it with the Congress party’s vision of preserving diversity while fostering unity.

Expressing concern over the potential threat to article 371-A of the Constitution of India, which safeguards the culture, religion, and languages of Nagaland, Ramesh warned that the BJP's actions could endanger these special provisions.

He also raised questions about alleged lack of clarity surrounding the details of the agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NSCN-IM, signed almost nine years ago.

Also read: India bloc victory in LS polls will begin from Nagaland: Jairam Ramesh

In the Congress manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a promise has been made to address the Indo-Naga political issue based on a “preliminary agreement” dating back to 2013-14.

However, the manifesto lacks specific details regarding this agreement, leading to ambiguity and confusion.

When questioned about this during a media briefing, Jairam Ramesh explained that the Framework Agreement reflects years of negotiations between the government of India and NSCN-IM, spanning multiple administrations from Narasimha Rao to Dr Manmohan Singh.

He stated that the ideas formulated during these negotiations were initially incorporated around 2013 and subsequently integrated into the Framework Agreement.

Despite acknowledging the existence of discussions and agreements, Ramesh did not provide clarity on the specifics of what transpired in 2013.

He emphasized that Prime Minister Narendra Modi possesses the authority to disclose all discussions held since 1997, including the details leading up to the Framework Agreement.

Ramesh emphasized that the onus lies on the Prime Minister to publicly reveal the process and content of the agreement, including the events of 2013-14.