Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXXII No. 315
DIMAPUR, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2022 Pages 12 ` 5.00
N Korea fires more shells toward buffer zone INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 9
PM Modi likely to visit Nagaland on October 28
Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, OCT 19 (NPN): In a major development that has caught many by surprise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly coming to Nagaland on a day’s visit by end of October and also expected to address a public rally at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Kohima. Highly placed official sources confirmed to Nagaland Post that Modi is likely to visit Nagaland on October 28, after campaigning in Tripura. As per the draft itinerary, the Prime Minister will land at Dimapur airport and fly by chopper to Kohima where he is expected to address a public rally at IG Stadium, sources said. Hectic preparations are on to organise Modi’s second visit to Nagaland. Indication of the Prime Minister’s visit was first known when the ongoing NSF Martyr’s Trophy 2022 at IG Stadium was rescheduled. (NSF match details on p-12)
Power dept clarifies on electrification works at HC complex DIMAPUR, OCT 19 (NPN): Department of Power Nagaland (DoPN) has refuted a report recently published in a national daily, which claimed that an amount of Rs. 44.24 crore had been allegedly withdrawn against electrification and water supply works of the under-construction High Court Complex, Meriema. In a press release, department of power engineer-in-chief clarified that the sanctioned amount from justice & law department to power department for external electrification works was only Rs.44.24 lakh (not in crores). The department stated that the external electrification was completed in full as per the technical specifications and scope of the sanction way back in 2011 and the payments were released accordingly. The department also said that the matter has been examined by the Court and subsequently discharged in February 2022. Power department has, therefore, clarified that all matters relating to electrification works at New High Court Complex, Meriema by the department have been settled, adding that the media report stands clarified.
This is it!
“Preparation and submission of bills for payment is priority since there’s hardly any money.” K Y M C
File photo of Prime Minister Modi at the Hornbill Festival in 2014.
The visit holds significance as both Nagaland and Tripura are going to polls by early part of next year. Though the Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to formally announce election schedule for Nagaland, Modi’s visit has also led to many speculations about whether he is likely to make some important announcement when he addresses the rally.
As per reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Tripura on October 27. Modi’s, sudden one-day tour- has also added fuel to speculations that it is to primarily rejuvenate the state BJP, which is showing signs of spreading its wings across the state and also to counter the anti-incumbency factor against the ruling UDA coalition government. Election in Nagaland is scheduled to be held by end of February 2023 to constitute the next 14th NLA by first week of March. President to visit Nagaland in Nov: Official sources also informed that President of India Droupadi Murmu is expected to visit Nagaland by first week of November. State chief minister Neiphiu Rio had earlier informed that the President Murmu was likely to visit Nagaland to express her gratitude for the overwhelming support given to her during the presidential polls.
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T20 WC: WI, Ireland win; hunt for Super 12 SPORTS, PAGE 12
Mallikarjun Kharge elected as Congress president NEW DELHI, OCT 19 (AGENCIES): As expected, Mallikarjun Kharge was on Wednesday elected the Congress president beating Shashi Tharoor in a tightly fought contest. The veteran, who won 7,897 of the valid votes (84.14 per cent) of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates to Tharoor’s 1,072 (11.4 per cent), takes over as the first nonGandhi chief of the party in two-and-a-half decades. While Kharge’s victory was no less than a landslide, Tharoor managed to cross the 1,000 vote mark, surprising many in the party. Kharge will formally take over as the Congress chief on October 26. Although the composition and the numbers of the electoral college were different and there can be no comparison, Tharoor managed to garner more votes than Sharad Pawar when the latter contested against Sitaram Kesri in 1997. The last time a contest took place for the Congress presidency was in 2000 when Jitendra Prasada faced off with Sonia. He was defeated by 7,448 votes to 94.
Shashi Tharoor greets newly elected Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter’s residence, in Delhi on Wednesday. (PTI)
TOTAL VOTES: 9385 Mallikarjun Kharge: 7,897 Shashi Tharoor: 1,072 Invalid Votes: 416 In 1997, Kesri had defeated heavyweights Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot easily, with 6,224 votes against Pawar’s 882 and Pilot’s 354 respectively. As the results became clear, Tharoor congratulated Kharge and thanked the delegates who supported him. “It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be President of the Indian National Congress and I
wish Mallikarjun Kharge all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues, and to carry the hopes and aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India,” he said in a Twitter post. “The decision of the party delegates is final and I accept it humbly. It is a privilege to be a member of a party that allows its workers
NSCN (I-M), NNPGs to form Council of Naga Relationships & Cooperation DIMAPUR, OCT 19 (NPN): Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) have agreed to form the Council of Naga Relationships and Cooperation (CNRC). This was agreed at a meeting held in Kolkata on October 17 and 18, 2022 under the initiative of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR). A joint statement signed by NSCN (I-M) vice president Tongmeth Wangnao and NNGPs WC convenor N Kitovi Zhimomi
NSCN (I-M) and WC/NNPGs leaders with FNR members in Kolkata. (FNR)
stated that the two groups, with a renewed spirit of commitment, met in response to the Naga people’s yearning for reconciliation and unity in purpose.
“Taking forward the September Joint Accordant’s resolve ‘to chart a path forward’, we have agreed to form the Council of Naga Relationships and
Cooperation led by the Convenor of NNPGs and Chairman of NSCN to explore, at the earliest, realistic ways for Nagas to move forward on the basis of Naga his-
torical and political rights,” declared the joint statement. Further, understanding the urgency to rise above their present condition, the NNPGs and the NSCN affirmed to commit themselves to the “values of Truth, Forgiveness, Justice, and Peace as the discerning power to help us choose a shared future over the divisions of the past.” The two groups have urged the Naga public to jointly participate and support “this process of shaping and building this future together.”
to choose their president,” he said in a statement. He was always the underdog, punching above his weight. But by securing 1,000-plus votes in the Congress presidential election, Shashi Tharoor has made a mark and declared that he cannot be ignored anymore. And the close to 12 per cent vote share that he received shows that there is appetite for change in the Congress - or, in other words, resentment against the status quo that the AICC establishment so desperately wanted. Kharge, the new Congress president, and the leadership will have to acknowledge Tharoor and the sentiment he represented in the high-stake internal election. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that he will report to the new Congress president who will decide his role in the party. He told reporters at Adoni during Bharat Jodo Yatra that the Congress president will be the final authority and he will decide how the party is going to move forward. (Read more on p-5)
5-member HPC formed to look into ANATG issue
Correspondent
KOHIMA, OCT 19 (NPN): State government has constituted a five-member High Powered Committee (HPC) Tuesday to look into the service regularisation demand of the All Nagaland Ad hoc Teachers Group (ANATG) 2015 batch. The HPC shall be headed by principal secretary to chief minister KD Vizo as chairman, commr & secy School Education as member secretary and members-- commr & secy P&AR, commr & secy Justice & Law and commr & secy Finance. ANATG president, Rüguotsolie and general secretary Kewasing Khing said that the group acknowledged the “quick action” taken by the government to form the HPC even before the stipulated periods of 15 days as agreed earlier. While reaffirming “good faith” in the government that it would look into their issue at the earliest, the group expressed hope that the HPC would also come out with a positive solution.
Sufficient stock of rice in Nagaland: FCI DIMAPUR, OCT 19 (NPN): Food Corporation of India (FCI) on Wednesday informed that there was sufficient stock of rice to meet the requirements of Nagaland state. In a press release, FCI, regional office, Dimapur informed that in order to meet the needs of citizens in Nagaland, the Centre has allocated approximately 27000 MT rice for the month of October 2022 through different schemes i.e., NFSA, PMGKAY, OWS.
FCI also stated that at present FCI Nagaland Region has the stock position of 43111 MT rice. Stating that Nagaland is a rice consuming state, FCI said there was no procurement of rice/ paddy in the year 2022. In August this year, Food Corporation of India released 11,500 metric tonne (MT) of food grains, as per the Central government’s monthly allocation. Till September, FCI received 12,149.73 MT (five rakes) of food grains.
India has a responsibility to protect rights Over 300 trees felled along Naga Shopping Arcade area of all individuals, says UN chief Guterres Staff Reporter
MUMBAI/AHMEDABAD, OCT 19 (PTI): India’s voice on the global stage can only gain in authority and credibility from a strong commitment to inclusivity and respect for human rights at home, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said here on Wednesday. Speaking after paying floral tributes to martyrs of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai at Taj hotel, he also said that fighting terrorism must be a global priority and
no cause can justify terrorism of any kind. Addressing students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Guterres said, “As an elected member of the Human Rights Council, India has a responsibility to shape global human rights, and to protect and promote the rights of all individuals, including members of minority communities.” This could be done by “securing and upholding the rights and dignity of all people, especially the most
vulnerable, by taking concrete action for inclusion, recognizing the enormous value and contributions of multi-cultural, multireligious and multi-ethnic societies, and by condemning hate speech unequivocally,” he said. Guterres also stressed the need for protecting the rights and freedoms of journalists, human rights activists, students and academics, and ensuring the continued independence of India’s judiciary. (Cont’d on p-8)
DIMAPUR, OCT 19 (NPN): As the felling of trees along the stretch of Naga Shopping Arcade (Super Market) area here entered the third on Wednesday, altogether 370 trees were felled till Wednesday. When contacted, assistant conservator of forest (ACF) Vivika Sema informed Nagaland Post that 95 trees were felled on Day one, 108 trees on Day two and 167 on the third day. Vivika said that the tree felling exercise was expected to be completed
DMC workers seen clearing the road on Wednesday. (NP)
by Thursday afternoon, and sectioning would commence. The official informed that the roads would be
Pradhan launches draft of NCrF for public consultation NEW DELHI, OCT 19 (PTI): School students will soon be able to earn credits from academic and non-academic activities which will be stored in the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) just like in higher education with the Ministry of Education planning to introduce a National Credit Framework (NCrF). Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the NCrF draft here Wednesday for public consultation. “The government has developed the NCrF to enable the integration of academic and vocational
domains to ensure flexibility and mobility between the two. NCrF would be a game changer by opening numerous options for further progression of students and inter-mingling of school and higher education with vocational education and experiential learning, thus mainstreaming skilling and vocational education,” he said. “NCrFwill also enable students who have dropped out of the mainstream education to re-enter the education ecosystem. The National Credit Framework is an umbrella framework for skilling, re-skilling, up-
skilling, accreditation and evaluation encompassing our people in educational & skilling institutions and workforce,” he added. Taking the high-level inter-ministerial committee report on NCFr as the basis, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has started a national level public consultation on Wednesday on the same. The framework aims to formulate a unified credit accumulation and transfer for general and vocation education and from school to higher education. As envisaged in the National Education Policy 2020 to make education more holis-
tic and effective with an emphasis on the integration of general (academic) education, vocational education and experiential learning, it becomes imperative to establish and formalize a national credit accumulation and transfer system. The NCrF provides for creditisation of all learning and assignment, accumulation, storage, transfer and redemption of credits, subject to assessment. According to the Report of the High-Level Inter-Ministerial Committee on National Credit Accumulation and Transfer Framework led by Nir-
maljeet Singh Kalsi, chairperson, National Council for Vocational Education and Training, while a student can earn up to 40 credits for learning up to 1200 hours per year, for pre-school up to Class 5 the learning hours range from 800 to 1000 hours. The Minister appealed to all institutions, schools, ITIs, AICTE-affiliated engineering colleges, centrally-funded HEIs, state universities and regulatory authorities, bodies to host the public consultation for National Credit Framework on their website for seeking suggestions from citizens.
opened for traffic only after the sectioning, loading and clearing of the entire area was completed. He said the tree felling
operation has been going on smoothly. The ACF mentioned that a meeting with deputy commissioner (DC) Dimapur and other officials on Tuesday discussed coordination and execution of the ongoing work. Vivika reiterated that the Forest department was only supervising felling of trees along the stretch (Shopping Arcade), which was under Development Authority of Nagaland (DAN). He informed that DAN had tied up with various mills to clear the area.
Implement July 2019 order: WSK DIMAPUR, OCT 19 (NPN): Western SümiKukami (WSK) reiterated its demand that the State government implement the latter’s July 8, 2019 order which called for eviction of a new village set up within Kiyevi village jurisdiction. WSK through its media cell said it would stand firm on its demand and work collectively with Western Sümi Youth Front to ensure that justice was done. It also warned that in case of any untoward incident, the government will be solely held responsible as it has been left with no other choice. WSK accused the state government of trying to avoid responsibil-
ity from implementing its own orders in solving the issue, by diverting the case by inviting 14 tribes to mediate. However, WSK said that when the invitation was turned down by 14 tribes on the ground that the land conflict was between two tribes, the government had again on October 6 invited Central Nagaland Tribes Council and Tenyimi Public Organisation towards finding an amicable solution to the issue. WSK alleged, that instead of upholding its orders, the government has been clearly shrugging of its responsibility and left the issue to be resolved by the public. (Full text on p-6) K Y M C