Nagaland govt appeals NSCN-IM and Centre to find solution to Naga issue at earliest

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, former Chief Minister and NPF Legislature Party Leader T R Zeliang, and Minister Neiba Kronu met separately in New Delhi with the Centre's new interlocutor A K Mishra and representatives of the NSCN(IM) on Sunday.

An official said, "We met at Nagaland House and also met with NSCN(IM) representatives in Delhi, including the group's chief negotiator Th Muivah, chairman Q Tuccu, and vice-chairman Tongmat Wangnao, according to an official.

During the meetings on Sunday, the state government urged Mishra and NSCM(IM) representatives to be more practical in order to bring a solution to the Naga people as soon as possible.

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"There may be some differences between the group and the Centre over certain issues, but it is time to sort out the issues to find a solution," Nagaland legislators told NSCN (IM) leaders.

It may be mentioned that the talks between the Centre and the NSCN(IM) to resolve the vexing Naga issue resumed on September 20, nearly two years after deliberations stopped.

"As a facilitator of the negotiation process, the state government is extending all support to the Centre and the outfit," he stated.

In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government and the NSCN(IM) signed a Framework Agreement in 2015.

It came after more than 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years, with the first breakthrough in 1997 when a ceasefire agreement was signed following decades of insurgency in Nagaland that began soon after independence in 1947.

The talks between the NSCN(IM) and the Centre had come to a halt after the former refused to meet with previous interlocutor R N Ravi after the October 31, 2019 talks in Dimapur.