January 13, 2021

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Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 37

DIMAPUR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

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looks to cut troops deployed SC stays implementation of 3 farm laws onArmy internal security duty in NE region Farmers reject SC panel; say members are ‘pro-govt’

Forms 4-member committee to resolve impasse

NEW DELHI, JAN 12 (PTI): Supreme Cour t Tuesday stayed the implementation of controversial new farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a 4-member committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said that it will pass an order to this effect. The top court stayed the implementation of the three laws -- the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- against which several petitions have been filed challenging their constitutional validity. The bench which read

PHE department postpones exam DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has decided to postpone the LDA-cumComputer Assistant exam which was scheduled to be held on January 13. In a letter to CE (S&WSSO), principal secretary MK Mero said that as instructed by the PHE minister, the proposed exam under PHED has been postponed until further notice. It may be mentioned that the Naga Students’ Federation demanded to ban the proposed departmental exams for recruitment to various Group C posts under PHED scheduled on January 13. NSF asserted that it could not allow the proposed exam to take place as it was convinced that the proposed exam undermined the very principle of meritocracy which it had been staunchly advocating for the last many years. The federation warned that it would be compelled to take actions in conformity with the democratic principles in order to ensure that aspirations of the youth and student community of the State was upheld. It therefore urged all aspiring candidates to cooperate and abstain from the proposed exam.

This is it!

“To fight future wildfires, our government is prepari n g DPR f o r a 2-lane road upto here.” K Y M C

Farmer supporters take part in the ongoing agitation against at Singhu border in Delhi, Tuesday. (PTI)

out four names of members of the committee said that it will look into the farmers’ grievances on the issue. The four names of members include Bhupinder Singh Mann, President of Bhartiya Kisan Union; Anil Ghanwat, President of Shetkeri Sangthana, Maharashtra; Pramod Kumar Joshi, director for South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute, and agriculture economist Ashok Gulati. During the hearing, the top court sought the cooperation of the protesting farmers and made it clear that no power can prevent it from setting up a committee to resolve the impasse over the controversial farm

laws. The observation of the bench asking protesting farmers’ unions to cooperate assumes significance in view of reports that they would not go to any apex court-appointed panel for resolution of the dispute and wanted the laws to be repealed. Before pronouncing the order, the Supreme Court bench commenced the hearing and asked the farmers’ unions to cooperate and go before the committee to be appointed by it to resolve the dispute. “We are concerned about protecting the lives and property of citizens of India and we want to solve the problem,” said the (Cont’d on p-8) bench.

Protesting farmer unions Tuesday made it clear that they will not call off their agitation until the three farm laws are repealed, while raising doubts over the neutrality of the fourmember panel set up by the Supreme Court to resolve the deadlock over. While the farm unions welcomed the top court’s order to stay the implementation of agri laws, they asserted they will not appear before the committee as, according to them, its members were “pro-government”. “We don’t accept this committee, all the members in this committee have been pro-government and these members have been justifying the laws,” said Punjab farmers’ unions, declaring that they would amp up their protests across the country. Addressing a press conference at Singhu Border here, farmer leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal said that farmers never demanded the Supreme Court form a committee to resolve the

CSOs seek revocation of leasing DMC tax collection to pvt parties DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Civil society organisations (CSOs) based out of the town have petitioned Urban & Municipal Affairs department to revoke the leasing of Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) tax collection to private parties without any further delay. In a representation to the adviser for Urban & Municipal Affairs department “against the lease system for collection of tax by DMC”, Dimapur Urban Council Chairmen Federation (DUCCF) president Tsenthungo Nyamo, GB Union Dimapur Sadar president MY Ngullie, Naga Women Hoho Dimapur (NWHD) general secretary Elis Swu and Dimapur Naga Students’ Union (DNSU) president Sedevilie Angami reiterated their opposition to leasing out of DMC toll

tax collection to private parties. They recalled that a joint press release was issued by 10 organisations of Dimapur on June 10, 2017 against leasing out of DMC toll tax collection to any private party/middleman. An ultimatum by Public Action Committee (PAC) under the aegis of Naga Council Dimapur was also served to the department earlier to revoke the controversial leasing of tax collection by the council. They said this was done after extensive survey by the Public Action Committee, which found that the lease system introduced by Urban & Municipal Affairs department was one of the main factors that encouraged illegal collection of money at check gates and inside the city. However, they lamented

that the department has turned deaf ears to the cry of general public. The representation noted that various reasons had been cited by the CSOs pertaining to the drawbacks of leasing toll tax collection to private parties. It pointed out that ACAUT Nagaland had also exposed the racket in lease contract by lessees since 2012. As such, the organisations said the leasing of tax collection has resulted in unauthorised hikes in prices of various commodities. The organizations reminded the adviser that Dimapur had seen visible development and maintenance of roads, drainage, designated dustbins, culverts and overall improvement in sanitation when collection of toll tax was done by DMC itself. (Cont’d on p-8)

impasse, alleging the Central government is behind this development. “The members of the SC-appointed committee are not dependable as they have been writing on how agri laws are pro-farmer. We will continue our agitation,” Rajewal told the presser after a meeting of 32 farmer unions from Punjab. “We are against any committee on principle. It is the government’s way to distract attention from the protest,” he said, adding that farmers will go ahead with their proposed January 26 “Kisan Parade” that will be moved into the national capital. AIKSCC said in a statement, “It is clear that the court is being misguided by various forces even in its constitution of a committee. These are people who are known for their support to the 3 Acts and have actively advocated for the same.” On Wednesday, Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, which represents around 40 unions, will hold a meeting to discuss the next course of action.

and resistance began during British rule and entered the second phase under the government of India which continued for six decades till the FA was signed. M I P, s a i d N a g a people’s political struggle “against foreign occupation, went through a very important phase in history” that began with resistance against the British-led force which launched an expedition into Naga territory in 1832 under the command of Captain Jenkins and Captain Pemberton. MIP said Nagas resolutely refused to submit to the British rule which provoked the colonial power to set of more military expeditions against Nagas. It said Naga continued to struggle against the British against all odds till finally, Nagas under NNC leader A.Z. Phizo, declared Naga independence from British

rule on August 14,1947. According to MIP” the real conflict” started when Nagas refused to join the Indian union when invited in 1950. MIP said Nagas asserted their political independence on January 24,1950 when NNC informed the government of India, the UN and countries that had their embassies in Delhi, that “Nagas do not accept the Indian constitution.” Furthermore, MIP said NNC conducted Naga Voluntary Plebiscite on May 16,1951 where 99.9% voted in favour of “sovereign Naga state”. After this, it said NNC delegation met with then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on March 11,1952 to convey the “will of the Naga people for an independent Naga state, as expressed through the plebiscite”. MIP said the government

ceasefire process with the surrender of its top leadership, making the state violence-free again. He added that there is no violence in Mizoram, only one or two groups are involved in Manipur, and most of Assam is quiet. This is not the first time that the Army chief has spoken about withdrawing troops from the Northeast. In January 2020, while interacting with a small group of journalists, he said the region was going through a transitional phase and the Army had drawn up a plan to increasingly withdraw troops deployed there for counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations. He had then said two battalions of troops, or around 2,000 soldiers, have already been withdrawn from the North East and the same could be replicated in Kashmir in the future given that the long-term focus of the Army remains conventional war-fighting, as against the short-term and immediate goals of being involved in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

General M.M. Naravane

Army has already pulled out one of its brigades from NE. Plans to move out another one or two in the near future have not yet reached a level where we can contemplate moving troops out of the UT of J&K,” he said. He added that the security situation in the NorthEast has improved. Now, concerns remain only in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh. In Nagaland, the Army chief said he hopes the NSCN (Khaplang), which was not part of the ceasefire agreement, will rejoin the

COVID: States receive first SC advises Nagaland Lokayukta to resign consignments of vaccine NEW DELHI, JAN 12 (AGEN- of impropriety and unjustified DIMAPUR/NEW DELHI, JAN 12 (NPN/ AGENCIES): Ahead of vaccination drive, states across India received the first consignments of the COVID vaccine on Tuesday. About 54,72,000 doses were received by various States and by January 14, 100% doses will be received. Assam received the first consignment of over 2 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’, and Guwahati airport has been made a nodal hub for its distribution across the seven states in the region. Over the next few days, more boxes of the life-saving drug are expected at the Guwahati airport from where they will be taken to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura via road or air, including flights, choppers and small cargo planes depending on the weather conditions. The Health ministry said that in addition to ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’, four more vaccines are currently in the country’s pipeline. 1.1 crore ‘Covishield’ and 55 lakh ‘Covaxin’ vaccines have been procured at a cost of Rs 200 and Rs 206 per dose, respectively, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. Meanwhile, Centre hinted that for now, the COVID vaccine recipients will not have the option to choose from the two vaccines recently approved for restricted emergency use in India.

FA signed to end ‘Indo-Naga’ conflict: NSCN (I-M) DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Highlighting Framework Agreement, NSCN(I-M) through its MIP reiterated that the signing of the FA between NSCN(I-M) and the government of India on August 3,2015, MIP complete six decades of the “Indo-Naga political struggle”. While stating that the struggle that began with the British rule was “ a different matter,” MIP made it clear that the FA was about Naga people’s resistance against the government of India that lasted for six decades. MIP said the FA was signed as both NSCN and the government of India agreed to “end the violent confrontation one and for all and to usher in comprehensive progress in consonance with the genius of the Naga people.” It said the genesis of the Naga political assertion

New Delhi, Jan 12 (Agencies): The Army is planning to gradually reduce the number of troops deployed for internal security duties in the North East, but is not contemplating moving soldiers out of Jammu and Kashmir because of the prevailing terror situation in the Union Territory, Army chief General M.M. Naravane said Tuesday. Addressing the media ahead of Army Day on 15 January, General Naravane said that while terror continues unabated in Jammu & Kashmir, the security situation in the North East has improved manifold. As a result, the Army has already pulled out one of its brigades from the region and now plans to move out another one or two in the near future, reports The Print. With this, the Army will be able to concentrate on its primary duty of conventional war fighting, he said. “As far as internal security duties are concerned, terror continues unabated in J&K, although the situation in the hinterland has improved somewhat. We

of India under Nehru, was not ready to listen to Nagas’ point of assertion of their political rights. Hencefor th , MIP said the struggle of Nagas against British rule became “Indo-Naga political struggle, as Nehru was determined to use military force to suppress Naga people’s resistance” when thousands of “Indian troops” were sent “ to Nagalim beginning from 1954 onwards.” According to MIP, the FA became “historic and crucially important as it was signed under the direct supervision of the prime minister of India Mr Narendra Modi, in the presence of top dignitaries of the GoI”, telecast live and witnessed worldwide. It said every single word was “well crafted to reflect the historical and political rights of the Naga people.”

CIES): Nagaland Lokayukta Uma Nath Singh, the state’s anticorruption ombudsman, was on Monday advised by the Supreme Court to step down from his position given the spate of controversies the former high court chief justice has been embroiled in. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, SC gave him a week to consider resigning from the post. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde suggested to the Lokayukta’s lawyer that it was better to give up the post rather than demeaning himself and the offices that he has held in his career. “When there is no dignity in continuing, why go through all this and insist to continue at any cost?” the bench asked the former judge’s lawyer Vikas Singh, as it referred to the petition filed by the Nagaland government demanding that the Lokayukta be stripped of all his powers. The state government has sought removal of the Lokayukta, alleging various acts

Gov extends Poang Lüm greetings DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Nagaland governor R.N. Ravi extended Poang Lüm greetings to the people of Nagaland specially the Chang community. In his message, Ravi said the festival marks the traditional celebrations of self-sufficiency by the Chang community and heralds the beginning of cultivation process and seeks blessings for a bountiful harvest. Let this significant festival advocates unity and friendship, the governor said adding that the festival aims at passing down the spiritual and cultural richness of the beautiful traditions of Changs to the posterity. Ravi further urged all to follow the Covid19 protocols during the celebration. He further wished the community happiness, good health and prosperity.

personal demands by him. Its petition contended that the Lokayukta has continued to work online from Delhi even though the chief secretary did not approve of this. Representing Nagaland in the court, its advocate general KN Balagopal submitted on Monday that the former judge’s assumption of office as Lokayukta had itself flouted the law because he did not discontinue his arbitration work despite it being an office of profit. Balagopal also produced records of cases pending before the Lokayukta. The Lokayukta’s lawyer, on his part, responded that it was because of the outbreak of Covid-19 that Singh had insisted on doing his work from Delhi But this argument failed to cut any ice with the bench, which included justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. “We don’t agree with you at all...”. The case was adjourned for a week to give the Lokayukta time to ponder over his willingness to call it quits.

Nagaland COVID tally 11997 COVID-19 STATUS AS ON january 12, 2021 ACTIVE CASES Symptomatic AsympCritical-ICU District tomMod- Se- With- With On Mild atic erate vere out Oxy- VentiOxygen gen lator Dimapur 51 10 2 0 0 0 1 Kiphire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kohima 28 0 1 0 0 1 0 Longleng 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mokokchung 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 Mon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Peren 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Phek 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tuensang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wokha

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Zunheboto Total

0 86

0 12

0 4

0 1

0 0

0 1

0 1

Death MiRecovunder Total Death gratered InvestiCases ed gation 6249 40 3643 9 168 592 502 47 243

55 1 21 0 3 2 0 0 1

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

35

1

0

139 0 11667 84

0 1

74 0 37 9 6 9 0 0 0

6443 41 3730 19 184 604 504 47 244

2

39

3 142 140 11997

*10 deaths not due to Covid-19 *1 deaths under investigation

DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Nagaland COVID19 tally Tuesday inched towards the 12,000 mark after 10 new cases were reported-6 in Dimapur and 2 each in Kohima and Mokokchung, taking the tally to 11997. Further, the distribution across various categories include 4659 cases from

the armed forces/police, 1846 returnees, 4921 traced contacts and 571 frontline workers. PTI: India recorded 12,584 new cases of coronavirus, the lowest in around seven months, taking the country’s COVID-19 caseload to 1,04,79,179, the Health Ministry said. K Y M C


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