Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXVIII No. 208
THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018 Pages 12 ` 5.00
Scarlett Johansson responds to backlash for new trans film role
England beat Colombia via penalty; reach last 8
Maha govt allocates Rs 15 cr for pension scheme for journalists
Infotainment, Page 10
sports, Page 12
national, Page 5
SC clips Delhi LG’s wings AAP WINS PROXY BATTLE BY BJP AFTER COURT RULING
NEW DELHI, JUL 4 (AGENCIES): Delhi’s L i e u t e n a n t G ove r n o r (L-G) is bound to listen to the city’s democratically elected government and cannot act independently, said the Supreme Court on Wednesday, prompting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to claim victory against the Centre over administrative control of the national capital. “The L-G is bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers,” said a five-judge bench in a majority verdict after hearing appeals filed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government against a Delhi high court judgment declaring L-G as the sole administrator of the city. The L-G’s special power -- that of referring matters to the President -- needs to be exercised in exceptional circumstances and not routinely, said the Supreme Court. All decisions by Delhi’s council of ministers,
Dipak Misra (CJI)
Lt. Gov Anil baijal
who are elected representatives, must be communicated to the L-G but that does not mean his concurrence is required. “There is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also,” said the court, according to news agency PTI. The judgement -- pronounced by Chief Justice Dipak Misra -- also held that the LG cannot act as an “obstructionist”. In three separate but concurring judgements, Justices AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan said there is no independent authority vested with the LG to take indepen-
dent decisions. LG Anil Baijal and his predecessor Najeeb Jung and the Delhi government have been locked in a bitter power tussle ever since the AAP swept to power in Delhi in 2015. The conflicts stems out of the status of Delhi, which is a Union Territory and not a full state. As a result, the Delhi government does not have control over land, appointment of senior officers and the police force. These three are controlled by the L-G. “A big victory for the people of Delhi...a big victory for democracy,” said Kejriwal on Twitter
Rio clears air over integration comments DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio has once again clarified that he had merely relayed the issues deliberated during his meeting with Union Home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on June 12 to the media and that those were not his personal views. In a communiqué issued on Wednesday, Rio claimed that upon being asked about the issue of integration by the media, he had only replied as to what was told to the delegation led by him during the meeting by Singh. Pointing out that negotiations were on for the last 21 years and that it was the desire of the Naga people that an early solution should come, the chief minister claimed to have clearly mentioned during the meeting that the demand for integration of contiguous Naga inhabited areas was genuine.
Office shifted
N a ga l a n d Po s t Kohima Office Shifted to Mharon Building top floor Old Taxi Stand, Near Bank of Baroda, Kohima. All are therefore requested to contact us at the new location. Kohima Bureau
This is it!
“Everyday it gets worse with only one bridge left. So, it’s no use standing out there.” K Y M C
And the Government of India too recognised the genuineness of the demand, he added. Rio said that he had clearly mentioned that this was the point of discussion, which proved that the issue was discussed in the meeting. Stating that those were neither his personal views nor that of NDPP or PDA government, the chief minister pointed out that his office had already clarified the matter on June 14, while NDPP clarified on June 15. According to him, the PDA government’s declared policy was to play the role of an active facilitator to the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process and that it would continue to extend its support and cooperation for an early resolution to the decades-old imbroglio through a political agreement that was honourable and accept-
able to the people. He asserted, “My track record vis-à-vis the Naga political movement over the decades speaks volumes and as for me and my government, we have never deviated from our stand on the Naga peace process and the issue of integration. We stand committed to the genuine aspirations of the Nagas.” He said, however, if anyone had misunderstood the matter due to its misinterpretation in a section of the media, then he regretted it. He hoped that with this statement, truth would prevail and the matter would be put to rest. Rio also appealed to all sections of the society to continue to make collective efforts to bring the Naga family together under a spirit of oneness and unity for the greater cause of achieving lasting peace for “our people”.
minutes after the Supreme Court verdict. Kejriwal also hit out at Prime Minister saying: “If Modi govt. had not withdrawn the powers of elected govt. through illegal orders, precious three years would have been saved. People of Delhi are grateful to judiciary. Today’s order reinforces people’s faith in judiciary.”
Narayanasamy hails
Engaged in a running feud with Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi, Puducherry chief minister V. Narayanasamy has hailed the Supreme Court judgment on the powers of an elected government. “I welcome the verdict, and it is totally applicable to the government of Puducherry, which is also a Union Territory,” he told reporters. The veteran Congress leader warned that he would file a contempt petition if the Lt. Governor failed to act in accordance with the apex court verdict.
BJP state unit reconstituted DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): As per directive of the Central office, Nagaland BJP unit has reconstituted its organizational setup. Accordingly, state BJP president, Temjen Imna Along has appointed the following persons as office bearers: vice presidents- Hurui Zeliang, Dr. Sukhato A. Serna, Yanthungo Kikon, Er. C. Kawang Konyak, L. Thsangse Sangtam; general secretary, K. James Vizo, secretary (Org) Ananta Narayan Mishra, secretaries-- N. Khongwang Konyak, Khiubamdi Chewang, Khevishe Sema, Pithrongse Sangtam, Nyimathung Odyuo, Atila Phom, treasurer- Mahesh Kotecha, spokespersonsLanuakum O, B. Peniang, Hukaito Zhimomi and Zaveyi Kezo. Temjen Imna Along is also a cabinet minister and a first timer in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
2 attacked in Mnp after rumours over child kidnapping G U WA H AT I , J U L 4 (AGENCIES): Two persons were injured in separate parts of Manipur when people attacked them after rumours about children being kidnapped, said police. SP Kangpokpi, Hemant Pandey said one attack occurred in Champhai village and another in Ikaijoging village on Tuesday evening. Pandey said the two persons, whose identity he refused to reveal, appear to be mentally unstable and are under police guard in a hospital. “There have been rumours of cannibalism and presence of child lifters in Manipur for many days now,” Pandey said. No report of children missing has been filed in the last one month, he said. It may be mentioned that scores of incidents of locals thrashing “suspiciouslooking” innocents have been reported from different states in the past month or so. Lynchings have been reported from West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha in the past two months.
Cabinet reiterates ban on appointments sans posts DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): Nagaland cabinet at a meeting held on Wednesday directed the chief secretary to reiterate afresh the earlier order banning appointments without sanctioned posts and decided that action be taken on the erring officers and penalized as per rules. According to an official bulletin, the Cabinet also directed the P&AR department to frame a policy for holding combined recruitment of Grade-C and Grade-D posts in all the departments simultaneously and submit to the Cabinet for decision. Further, the P&AR department was also directed to re-iterate its earlier order that appointment of Grade-D posts in the districts will be filled by the respective indigenous inhabitants of the districts only. In this regard, all the departments are to review all such cases of appointment and consolidate proposal by P&AR department and submit to the Cabinet for decision. On the issue of Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate, the cabinet directed the home department to issue a clarification immediately
on the orders issued by the ADC Dimapur. Cabinet observed that the order should be in line with the Notification issued vide dated 2804-1977 that clearly defined criteria to qualify as an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland. Home department has been directed to submit a proposal to the Cabinet on the issue of ILP streamlining for decision. Besides, the Cabinet discussed and approved to exempt medical doctors in partial modification of the P&AR department memo dated June 17, 2014 and restored incentives for acquiring higher qualification. Further, the department asked to examine the issue of grant of study leave for specialisation and bring it before the Cabinet. Cabinet also approved enhancement of ex-gratia payment to the next of kin of Central Armed Police Forces/Army Personnel/ Assam Rifles/Nagaland Police who suffer fatal and non-fatal casualties during counter insurgency operations, as proposed by the home department. The Cabinet also discussed and approved the Nagaland Water Policy, 2016.
ANATG ‘temporarily’ suspends hunger strike
DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): All Nagaland Ad hoc Teachers Group (ANATG) 2015 batch has announced that its indefinite hunger strike, launched on June 29, 2018, has been temporarily suspended with effect from July 1, 2018 until further notice. In a press release, ANATG-2015 batch president, Ruguotsolie, and agitation core committee convenor, Temsuchiba Aier, said hunger strike was suspended temporarily owing to the appeal by All Nagaland School Teachers’ Association (ANSTA), the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) with the proposal to file the interlocutory application on behalf of ANATG-2015 batch. (Full text on p-6)
Taxi fares hiked in Kma
KOHIMA, JUL 4 (NPN): All Nagaland Taxi Association (ANTA) on Wednesday hiked the taxi fares from Kohima to Dimapur and vice versa, including local (Kohima) taxi fares from Rs. 220 to Rs. 250 and Rs. 80 to Rs. 100 respectively with immediate effect. According to ANTA Hq Kohima, president Vibasetuo Solo, all village bound regional taxis fares have also been hiked by Rs. 10 per passenger. The decision was made following a meeting with the Regional transport Authority held on Central and State govern- June 21 at the office of the ment schemes and welfare DC Kohima. programmes, the goverLate Manik’s nor, however, regretted that wife passes away these were not reaching the targeted group. He urged DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): the university and student Mrs. Maya Bhattacharjee, community to visit villag- wife of prominent social es at regular intervals and worker and citizen of Dimaidentify the beneficiaries of pur late Manik BhattachaCentral and State flagship rjee, who preceded her in death in 2008, passed away programmes Acharya also informed at a Guwahati hospital on the meeting that President Wednesday. Late Mrs. Bhatof India Ram Nath Kovind tacharjee, mother of Monoj had urged the governors to Bhattacharjee, administraconvene meetings with vice- tor of Pranab Vidhyapith chancellors of State uni- Higher Secondary School, versities from time to time Dimapur, was also the chairand inspire them towards person of Manik BhattachaUniversity Social Responsi- rjee foundation and sponsor bility (USR). of Manik Bhattacharjee N a g a l a n d U n ive r - award to HSLC and HSSLC sity vice-chancellor Prof toppers under NBSE. Pradeshi Lal delivered the Governor PB Acharya welcome address on the expressed sadness over the occasion, while pro vice- demise of Mrs.Maya Bhatchancellor Prof RC Gupta tacharjee and prayed for gave the vote of thanks. the departed soul to rest in This was stated in a press peace. release. (Cont’d on p-7)
Empower young minds with knowledge: Gov DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): Nagaland Governor, P.B. Acharya has once again called for inclusion of skill development courses in university curriculum as jobs in government sector had reached a saturation point and youth coming out of universities should be encouraged to become entrepreneurs. Addressing an interactive session with Nagaland University officials of Mereima campus on Wednesday, Acharya remarked, “Let academics empower the students and make them employable.” The governor pointed out that University Grants C o m m i s s i o n ( U G C ) ’s scheme called “Introduction of Career Oriented Courses in Universities and Colleges” aimed at introducing career and marketoriented, skill enhancing add-on courses at undergraduate level that would
prove beneficial in seeking jobs, self-employment and empower the students. Mentioning that the basic foundation of a developed society was education, he termed educational institutions as the backbone of any society. He said it was important to empower young minds with knowledge, but added that they should not be self-centred and give back to the society once they achieve their educational goals. Acharya encouraged the universities to inculcate their students with this thought as, according to him, the ultimate goal of education should be to strengthen and develop the society. He also said that in order for a State to progress its society had to be strengthened and called on the audience to play their role in developing the State. Referring to various
2 young Naga innovators win prestigious awards Reporters Without Borders urges Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, JUL 4 (NPN): By virtue of dogged determination and untiring efforts to innovate, two young Naga college students- Zenwang Konyak and Peihaudinghave made Nagaland proud and made the rest of India stand up and take notice after being rewarded for their unconventional inventions. Zenwang Konyak, a second year BSc (Botany) student from Kohima Science College who was awarded the prestigious ‘Ashoka Youth India Youth Venture Fellowship’ in May this year for his popular work “Grow Your Plants”, a guidebook for children on how to grow indigenous plants in their homes and backyards, is travelling to Bengaluru to join 15 other bright young minds from across India to be part of the ‘Cohort’ 8 of Ashoka Fellowship scheduled next
Peihauding
Zenwang Konyak
week. He is backed by his 24-member team ‘Echo Inspiro’. The other young innovator, also a student of Kohima Science College – Peihauding- was selected to receive an amount of Rs.2 lakhs by Entrepreneurs Associates to fund his ‘Organic Healing Paste’ invention, which acts as a paste to heal the injured parts of a plant and to enhance the roots and bark formation during grafting. The work won an award at the IIT Tech Expo in Guwahati last year and
was also declared the ‘Best Northeast Project.’ Shiroi from Entrepreneurs Associates informed Nagaland Post that Peihauding will be given the amount by the end of July. Meanwhile, speaking to this reporter before leaving for Bengaluru, Zenwang said he would be part of a week-long workshop and seminar to get national exposure on how to lead a team and be champions of new patterns of social good. He said the process started earlier in February this year
when Entrepreneurs Associates nominated him for Ashoka Youth Venture Fellowship, a programme that identifies and supports teenagers between 12 and 20 years of age who come up with innovate solutions for problems faced by their communities. He finally received a call to pitch his venture at Bengaluru in March this year after the Ashoka board was impressed by his work. Out of hundreds of brilliant student innovators and scientists who have been nominated from across the country, Zenwang made the cut along with 15 other young innovators who would be provided financial support in early stage and a lifetime membership into an expansive network of peers and partners, enabling them to achieve their vision and have even greater impact. What makes Zenwang stand out from the rest are
his innovations that focus to create and expand economic opportunities for people at the lower rung of the social and economic order, those without access to clean water, reliable energy and good health and nutrition. On being asked what the fellowship meant to him, he said, “It has provided a platform for young change makers like me from across the country and letting us exchange ideas and experiences through one’s work and interactions. During workshops we understand the cause of failures and learn from them. Being an Ashoka Youth Venturer, I come across people who are as hungry as me in seeking a change in the society. It has enlightened me about leadership, inspiration and creativity. ” He also thanked Entrepreneurs Associates for guiding and mentoring him.
India to protect journalists
NEW DELHI, JUL 4 (AGENCIES): A media watch group-- Reporters Without Borders (RWB) on July 4 expressed serious concern at “an alarming deterioration in the working environment of journalists in India” and demanded that the government ensure the safety of journalists who are feeling threatened, reports The Hindu. Repor ters Without Borders said in a report that at least three journalists were killed in India in 2017 and that a fourth case is still under investigation. In 2018, four journalists were killed in the first six months of the year itself. “The hate speech directed toward journalists has increased massively, causing serious concern for their safety,” the report said. The group said that in (Cont’d on p-7) June last, editor of Rising
Kashmir Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead as he left his office in Srinagar. In March, journalist Sandeep Sharma was crushed to death by a truck in Madhya Pradesh. And in Bihar, journalists Navin Nischal and Vijay Singh were run over by an SUV. There was no immediate reaction from the government. The group demanded a swift and independent investigation of cases in which journalists have been targeted. Columnist Neer ja Choudhary said the government was not acting as it should be, given the rise in attacks on journalists. “If the government was serious about the freedom of press, the media can’t be treated like an upstart,” she said. “Those who want to stifle dissenting voices are getting emboldened as nobody is brought to book.” K Y M C