Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXIX No. 200
DIMAPUR, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2019 Pages 12 ` 5.00
Shah reviews security situation in J-K on his maiden official visit
Women’s WC: Netherlands, Italy enter QFs
SL to resume executions after 42-year hiatus
national, Page 5
sports, Page 11
international, Page 9
Cong unable to accept its defeat: PM
NEW DELHI, JUN 26 to give a thumping ma(PTI): Prime Minister jority to the BJP as “a Narendra Modi Wednesdefeat of the country, day launched a blistering democracy and farmattack on the Congress ers”. saying it was sheer arGoing by the Conrogance of the grand old gress party’s arguments, party which is unable he wondered whether to accept its defeat and victory of the Congress continues to question the in Wayanad and Rae mandate of the people Bareli seats too was a by doubting EVMs. “defeat of the country”. Addressing Rajya Noting that the ConNarendra Modi Sabha, Modi said there gress was not able to have been so many polls win even a single Lok with EVMs and parties that are Sabha seat in 17 states, he said it was represented in Rajya Sabha have got time for the Congress to introspect opportunities to govern in some state and “accept defeat”. or the other after elections conducted “My friends in the Congress: through EVMs. “Then, why question They have not been able to digest EVMs today,” he asked. victory. They have not been able to Modi said, “We are seeing this accept defeat. I do not consider this same attitude when it comes to dis- to be a healthy sign in a democracy,” cussing ‘One Nation, One Election’.” he said. Modi quoted former presi“Yes, people may not like the idea or dent Pranab Mukherjee that opposihave inputs on this. But, it is impor- tion has a right to question but not tant to present these ideas and have obstruct as he sought protection from discussions on the subject,” he said the Chair to help government get on the proposal for holding simul- through important legislations. taneous Assembly and Lok Sabha “We don’t have majority in elections which the government had Rajya Sabha but verdict of the been batting for. people should not be throttled in In his over an hour long reply the House,” he said adding opposito the debate on Motion of Thanks tion parties in the Upper House got to President’s address, Modi, who special pleasure in “demeaning” the had targeted the Congress during government. The Motion of Thanks his reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, to President’s address was passed by accused the opposition party of Parliament following the Prime Minheaping “insults” on the people of ister’s reply. The Motion was passed the country by calling their decision by Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
State govt notifies Startup Policy
DIMAPUR, JUN 26 (NPN): State government has notified the Nagaland Startup Policy, 2019 with an aim to create a conducive atmosphere for local entrepreneurs and to provide opportunities to establish an entrepreneurial culture so as to bring out more job opportunities for the youth. In a notification, the department of industries & commerce stated that the policy shall be effective for a period of five years from the date of its notification or until notified, whichever is earlier.
Rains likely over parts of state
DIMAPUR, JUN 26 (NPN): Light to moderate rain with one or two heavy spells are expected over parts of Nagaland until June 29, 2019 and thereafter the intensity of rains will decrease to some extent, but still scattered rains will continue with cloudy sky. According to Skymet Weather report, heavy rain and thundershowers with gusty wind at many places with few very heavy spells would occur over Dimapur, Kiphire, Kohima, Longleng, Mokokchung, Mon, Peren, Phek, Tuensang, Wokha and Zunheboto districts of Nagaland during the next 48 hours. The report stated that Nagaland was rain deficient by 24%.
This is it!
“Sir, I’m only doing my duty. The civic body will then do its duty too.” K Y M C
At 21.4%, Nagaland has the highest ‘One poll, one ideology’ not unemployment rate DELHI, JUN 26 acceptable to India: Cong NEW (AGENCIES): Nagaland
Congress on Wednesday said in Rajya Sabha that the idea of “one election, one face, one ideology” is not acceptable to India and asked the BJP to desist from “dividing the country for votes”. Congress leader Anand Sharma, while speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, also urged the BJP to recognise the efforts made by previous governments since independence and not disregard them. “Don’t divide the country for votes. This is a very dangerous trend,” Sharma told the BJP in Rajya Sabha. “You cannot have a forced majority, you cannot impose your decision. You cannot take away the rights of states on elections. When governments fall in states and alternative governments are not formed, will you impose President’s rule then. This will not happen. “I understand your thought. There should be one country, but one election, one face, one name, one ideology is not acceptable to India,” Sharma said. Sharma, who is deputy leader of the Congress in the upper house, alleged that no prime minister has ever fought elections on the victory of armed forces as Modi did. He recalled how Indira Gandhi after the victory of Indian forces in Bangladesh war of independence said that this was the victory of humanity and not hers, for which opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee had lauded her.
has the highest unemployment rate among the states at 21.4%, and Meghalaya the lowest at 1.5%, figures tabled by the government in Parliament during the current session show, reports The Indian Express. Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2017-18, other aspects of which have been reported earlier, shows huge variations among states. Besides Nagaland, states with high unemployment are Goa and Manipur. Chhattisgarh and Sikkim are among those with the lowest rates. If Union Territories are included in the comparison, Nagaland still tops the list. Country-wide, PLFS pegs the unemployment rate at 6.1%, with the rate lower among females than males. Among the states, Nagaland and Meghalaya again take the top and bottom positions in both female and male lists. Goa and Kerala are high in female unemployment (26.0% and 23.3%) but their respective male unemployment rates are three times lower (8.1% and 6.2%).
PIL issue: BJP claims petitioner not from party
ENCSU serves ultimatum on govt
Correspondent
KOHIMA, JUN 26 (NPN): Claiming that there was no BJP leader by the name of Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay, party’s State president and Higher & Technical Education (H&TE) minister Temjen Imna Along said the State unit had verified with the Central headquarters in this regard. Addressing a press conference at his official residence here on Wednesday, the minister said the State BJP was on the hunt for Upadhyay and, if found, would be asked to withdraw the PIL as it would harm the political endeavour of Nagas. He said the reports, published in various national media, that referred to him as a BJP leader had worried party workers, adding that he and the party had made a thorough verification but did not find the name anywhere. He claimed the party was not aware of this person.
Meanwhile, as per the twitter handle of Ashwini Upadhyay, a verified account (@AshwiniBJP), Upadhyay claims to be a spokesperson of the BJP and an advocate in the Supreme Court. According to The Indian Express (Nov. 11, 2018), the report stated that Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay goes by the sobriquet ‘PIL man’ in the corridors of the Supreme Court. A practising advocate, he holds the unique distinction of filing 50 PILs in five years. In another report by ANI (Nov. 12, 2018), the Supreme Court pulled up advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay for filing a series of ‘meaningless’ Public Interest Litigations (PILs) and warned that he might be banned from filing PILs in the future. Alleging that people were made to understand that BJP Nagaland was responsible for the issue,
Along denied this and called for withdrawal of the PIL as it could become a new bone of contention in the ongoing Naga peace process. On the merger of former JD (U) leader and agriculture minister G Kaito Aye with NDPP, Along said being a lone member of his parent party in the ministry, merging with the ruling party was his own decision, adding he did not wish to comment further. Further on JD (U) president’s claim of Kaito meeting BJP general secretary in-charge of Northeast Ram Madhav and the latter insisting that the former be dropped from the ministry, Along clarified that no one had asked chief minister Neiphiu Rio to drop Kaito from his cabinet. Along said even if Kaito was dropped, his post would not be allotted to BJP and pointed out that JD (U) was still a constituent of NDA. (Cont’d on p-7)
DIMAPUR, JUN 26 (NPN): Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU), which has been raising objection over alleged appointment of seven posts out of 120 newly created posts under Higher Education (HE) department, Wednesday served an ultimatum on the state government to intervene and meet its demand of Backward Tribes (BT) reservation within five days from the date of submission. In an ultimatum addressed to chief secretary, ENCSU president M. Longre Chang and general secretary Wangnei C Jessuhu said the union was compelled to serve ultimatum as the government has failed to address its multiple pleas and letters. ENCSU warned that failure to take necessary action towards its demand, the union would be compelled to take its own course of action.
DCCI says resolution adopted in public interest DIMAPUR, JUN 26 (NPN): Following strong objection and criticism of its general meeting resolution by student bodies, the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has reassured all that the resolution was adopted “in the interest of the consumer and general public and not as alleged.” DCCI through its media affairs termed as “unfortunate” that the resolution has been “highly misinterpreted.” DCCI said it was perplexed that some leaders leading intellectual body were misleading the public and not being able to differentiate between the word “check” and “raid”. DCCI clarified that at no point had it resolved against “Checking of tampered MRP, expiry goods”. DCCI said its resolution was against “raids” carried out by individuals and organiza-
tions without the presence of competent authority, authorized individuals and agencies. DCCI said it wondered as to what wrong it has done by resolving to abide by the law of the land. It also claimed that many individuals and organizations in Dimapur have been on “raiding spree” without the presence of competent authority and also “indiscreetly” impose fine instead of reporting it to the appropriate authority which led to it becoming a “a semi industry.” DCCI said such “illegal activism” emboldened some of the business enterprises to buy their way out from such unscrupulous people. DCCI said it wanted to stop such practices of “underhand exchange” and encourage raids in the presence of appropriate authority so that such shops and business
establishment were exposed publicly with appropriate action taken. However, DCCI lamented that certain section of people were adamant against raids without the presence of competent authority. On the resolutions against donations and sale of tickets and lottery, DCCI reminded that it was not just its resolution but a standing district administration order banning such activities. DCCI clarified that escalation of rates was directly co-related to such unsolicited activities and so it was the wish of the business community to protect the consumers with fair price. DCCI said it was not opposed to any voluntary contribution by anybody but was against forced donations. Further, DCCI informed consumers that there was a separate Public Griev-
ances Cell to address their grievances and requested them not to hesitate to lodge their complaints. DCCI also appealed to the GBs and colony councils to be vigilant on illegal immigrants setting up business establishment without a proper trade license. It also appealed to DMC and colony councils to make NRC and NoC as main documents for issuing trade license to people hailing from Assam by taking extra effort to re-verify such trade licenses. Meanwhile, DCCI has appealed to the student community not to misread the DCCI intentions, which were in the interest of students, parents, consumers and public. DCCI said it believe that no issue was too big to be resolved “if we all patiently with mutual respect sit over and thrash out the issues.”
Health, education should be priority: Gov Acharya
Acharya addressing the Intl. day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2019 programme at Capital Convention Center. (DIPR)
Correspondent
KOHIMA, JUN 26 (NPN): Nagaland governor, PB Acharya, said that health and education should be of utmost priority and urged the policy-makers to look into the appeal for budgetary allocation to implement “the Nagaland State Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Policy 2016”. Acharya said this while addressing an event organized to observe International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on the theme “health for justice, justice for health” at Capital Convention Centre here Wednesday. The programme was jointly organized by ministry of social justice and empowerment,
department of social welfare Nagaland, narcotic cell Nagaland police, Kripa foundation, NCC, IDUF, NSACS and NUN. Emphasizing on drug users, governor called upon the citizens of the state to create stigma-free environment in the society. He lauded the effort of the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) for its positive contribution towards addressing the drug abuse issue in the state. In his address as guest speaker, principal secretary school education & SCERT, Menukhol John, said that drug abuse and related issues was a huge concern and that all responsible must join hands in combating the (Cont’d on p-7) issue.
Let’s speak out in favour of religious freedom: Pompeo NEW DELHI, JUN 26 (AGENCIES): US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is on a 2-day visit to India, Wednesday called for speaking “strongly” in favour of religious freedom rights and asserted that the world is worse off when they are compromised. His remarks assume significance as they come days after the State Department, in its annual 2018 International Religious Freedom Report released last week, alleged that mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against minority communities, particularly Muslims, continued in India in 2018, amid rumours that victims had traded or killed cows for beef. “India is the birthplace of four major world religions. Let’s stand up together for religious freedom for all, let’s speak out strongly together in favour of those rights for whenever we do compromise those rights, the world is worse off,” Pompeo said in his India policy speech at the India International Centre here.
NSF threatens stir if PIL not withdrawn DIMAPUR, JUN 26 (NPN): Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has threatened to initiate State-wide democratic movement if the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a vested interest group before Supreme Court (SC) was not withdrawn. In a statement issued by its president Ninoto Awomi and vice-president Dievi Yano, the federation alleged that the vested interest group was harming the image of Nagas and could become an inconvenience for all. Contending that the allegation contained in the PIL and made available to media had projected Nagas in a very poor light, NSF said it was greatly offended and hurt by the PIL, adding that it was an open secret that some vested interest groups had misled BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay with the sole intention to hurt the good image of Nagas and promote anti-Naga feelings
outside Nagaland. Stating that it was deeply disturbed by the accusation of racial discrimination levelled against the Nagas, NSF pointed out that there was no perfect society and declared that “in terms of receiving good treatment, the Naga society in comparison to other societies treats everyone with respect”. This was borne out by the fact that non-Nagas controlled the entire market of the State, it added. NSF said it had also taken serious offence to the claim that many businesses had closed down and left Dimapur. Mentioning that such false claim was being made with the sole intention of spreading a feeling of hatred towards Nagas, the federation declared that it would not tolerate such false claim and accusation. Pointing out that settlement of land between locals and non-locals was a policy matter of the State govern-
DSSU objects to DCCI resolution
Opposition NPF slams Rio
D imapur , J U N 2 6 (NPN): Dimapur Sümi Students’ Union (DSSU) has raised objection to the resolution passed by the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) particularly the resolution no. 2 and no.4. In a statement, DSSU president, Kahito Chishi and general secretary, Vitopu Ayemi stated that any form of fundraise carried out by the student bodies were purely for “its well-wishers and never coerced upon anybody”. Therefore, DSSU said that point no.2 of the resolution, which termed fundraise by the student bodies as “illegal collection” was a direct challenge to the student community. The union also described resolution no.2 as “completely absurd and dictatorial self-style resolu(Cont’d on p-4) tion”.
DIMAPUR, JUN 26 (NPN): NPF has accused chief minister Neiphiu Rio of practising immoral politics and using money and muscle power to win support for his coalition government. Recalling how Rio had once boasted how under his leadership BJP was totally wiped from Nagaland in 2003, the opposition party in a statement said the NDPPled PDA government started from a very noxious setup. The statement pointed how while NPF was in negotiation with BJP over seat sharing, Rio’s NDPP offered 20 seats on a platter to BJP out of the blue. “Had NDPP contested on its own and not hijacked the deal, which was being worked out, they would have had a bitter result and left squirming,” it added. Following the deal, NDPP won 18 seats, with one under questionable cir-
ment and practised since long, the federation said it was not a new issue that would crop up on introduction of ILP in Dimapur. It quoted a land revenue department notification (no. LR/16/73, dated Kohima, the 22nd April 1976) that reads: “The question of settlement of land with non-locals and non-Nagas was discussed at length. It was decided that all cases for settlement of land with non-locals and non-Nagas will have to be referred to the Government with their recommendation of the authorities concerned and each individual case has to be examined on its own merit and approval by the State Government prior to granting such settlement will have to be taken”. The federation alleged that the ILP issue was only an excuse on the part of those with an ulterior motive to mislead the apex court. (Cont’d on p-4)
cumstances, while BJP won 12 seats, thus taking their combined number to 30, one short of the required number to form a government. And according to NPF, this was the juncture when Rio started his immoral politics. He first allegedly robbed the lone JD (U) MLA and kept one of the two NPP MLAs under confinement, as these two political parties were pre-poll alliance partners of NPF. Claiming that even the lone Independent MLA had approached it first and pledged support, NPF alleged that even before it could be made official, Rio’s “cohorts” got hold of him and offered plump portfolio and thus got his support. This was the start of the NDPP-led PDA government that was rife with horsetrading and nefarious back channelling, it claimed. (Cont’d on p-8) K Y M C