Nagaland government must stop bullying people to participate in Hornbill festival: Rising People's Party

Nagaland’s Rising People’s Party lashed out at the NDPP-BJP coalition government for insulting the sentiments of the eastern Nagaland people. Reacting to the official notice released by the state government where village guards of each tribe have been invited to participate in the Statehood day slated to be held on December 1 along with the Hornbill festival, the RPP has slammed the government for ‘forcing’ the people to participate in the state-level celebrations.

“If the ENPO is not willing to participate in the Hornbill festival, it’s their prerogative and their stand should be respected,” stated the press statement released by RPP.

“Why is the NDPP-BJP Coalition hell-bent on eastern Nagaland’s participation in the Hornbill festival through backdoor means? Why should the state government issue a notification forcing the Village Guards (VGs) from eastern Nagaland to participate in the festival donning traditional attires? Are the VGs the only bonafide government servants, and easy victims that they should be bullied into participation which is sure to inflame the sentiments of the eastern people?” added RPP’s press release.

Also read : Nagaland government gears up for Hornbill festival 2022, preparations in full swing

Highlighting how the state government is only inviting the village guards of Eastern Nagaland to participate in the celebrations, RPP further states, “It should be noted that there are VGs in Phek district as well but as per the government’s notification, only the VGs from eastern Nagaland have been summoned for participation which the RPP smells rat.”

“There’s a genuine grievance for which the ENPO is unwilling to participate in the Hornbill festival but how the Rio-led government is carrying out its bullying tactics necessarily means that the NDPP-BJP government is bent on creating disunity among the eastern brothers through manipulative means. Such disgusting tactics to undermine the eastern Nagas who have been at the receiving end for decades will only lead to more disunity for which the Rio-led government cannot escape responsibility,” quips RPP.

Extending their support to ENPO for their demand for a ‘Frontier Nagaland’, the RPP concludes in their press release, “As far as the demand for “Frontier Nagaland “is concerned the eastern Nagas have their genuine grievances for which the RPP fully supports the reasons for their grievances. During the party’s 34-day walkathon around Nagaland, the RPP observed that eastern Nagaland is indeed poorly developed, and as such the grievances of eastern Naga people cannot be brushed under the carpet”.