People back me for my stand on Nido Taniam's murder, says Ninong Ering

Usually away from the limelight he was forced to face the cameras as the Union minister of state for minority affairs, when young Arunachal Pradesh student Nido Taniam was brutally murdered in broad daylight in January in New Delhi allegedly due to racial profiling. Representing the Arunachal East constituency in Lok Sabha, Congress leader Ninong Ering believes that he did a fairly good job in lodging a strong protest against the discriminatory approach adopted by people in India’s National Capital towards their fellow citizens from North East India. Fighting the national elections for the second time, he is confident of his victory and rejects the theory of a Narendra Modi wave. [caption id=“attachment_1462247” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union Minister Ninong Ering. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The Arunachal Esat parliamentary constituency covers the districts of Upper Siang, East Siang Dibang Valley, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit, Anjaw, Changlang and Tirap comprising 27 Assembly segments. Ering spoke to Firstpost while on his campaign trail on the hills of Arunachal Pradesh. The excerpts: How much visibility do you think the Nido Taniam incident has given you just before the Lok Sabha elections? That was indeed a very sad thing to happen. Nido was the son of one of our Congress MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh. This incident again brought to light the racial discrimination the people from the North East, particularly those with Mongoloid features like myself face in mainland India. My people are happy with me because I represented the case very well both in Parliament and outside. I am vocal and people can approach me without any difficulty. People of the state have faith on me as I worked hard to set the ball rolling on a law against racial discrimination. This will definitely help me in getting the goodwill of the people in the coming elections. What about the Narendra Modi wave? Are you worried about his growing popularity? Let anybody come here (in Arunachal Pradesh) and campaign. But Congress has been in power throughout all these years in Arunachal Pradesh. People in Arunachal Pradesh are only familiar with the Gandhi and Nehru family. Modi did campaign in Pasighat but the rally had little impact. He did not have the guts to speak badly about our party in Arunachal Pradesh as he does in other parts of the country. In fact, in Arunachal Pradesh he was quite dormant and docile. And allow me to tell you the truth about the so-called Modi wave – it is a completely superficial wave that is leading many into disillusionment. The BJP is simply building castles in the air. China has failed to respect the imaginary McMahon Line and often trespasses into Arunachal Pradesh. Add to that the stapled visas that are given to anyone from Arunachal Pradesh who wants to travel to China. What is your take on that? As an Arunachali, it is certainly not comfortable for me when Chinese incursions happen so frequently. There is no doubt that India has been slow and lacking in the attitude that is needed to tackle China’s forays. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. It cannot be a small brother or sister of China. However, the Indian Army is doing its duty bravely despite the topography hurdles that exist in the region. This has instilled some confidence among the people. Democracy has to thrive. We have a feeling that more border to border meetings, mingling of civilians staying in both sides of the border will help ease the tension. However, the language has become a major limitation in this regard. Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang has switched over to the BJP just before the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections which are happening simultaneously. How much dent are you expecting because of Apang’s move? Gegong Apang is fighting the Assembly polls from Tuting-Yingkiong constituency. That is a small part of my parliamentary constituency in Upper Siang district. I don’t think that would have any impact on my poll prospects even if it helps the BJP in getting more votes. In fact, I believe I will get 1,200 more votes from that area than 2009. Of late, India has visibly increased focus on its Look East Policy. Your constituency will play a key role as the gateway for anyone coming to India from the ASEAN nations when the road connect is established or the defunct Stilwell Road is revived. What are you doing to exploit the role of a catalyst which you can easily become? I have already approached the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry ENS Nachiappan in this regard and asked him to expedite the trade process between India and ASEAN nations. For us, we have to take Myanmar on board. The consulate of Myanmar has been very positive. On our side we are building a road from Jairampur to Nampong in Changlang district which is located close to the Pangsau Pass. This road can be linked with the Kachin state of Myanmar. The only problem with Myanmar is that it is reluctant to develop the Kachin region because of the insurgency problem. But we are in talks with them and it has also sought our help. Once the road it is cleared we will have a lot of opportunities on both sides of the border. I have visited many ASEAN nations and I can tell you the earlier ice that existed has thinned a lot. Last month only I accompanied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar. I believe the entire political fraternity of the North East should come forward and put pressure on the Centre to implement the Look East Policy in its optimum level. Why are so many skirmishes taking place along the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam border? Despite having Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and at the Centre why are we not seeing an amicable solution? This is a very sensitive isssue. These clashes happen because personnel of the Assam Police often crosses into our state and threatens our people. The problem occurred because someone demarcated an imaginary boundary between the two states when the capital of Assam was in Shillong. So far there is a status quo on the issue. We are regularly holding tripartite talks involving the three concerned governments and looking for a amiable way out. The Nido Taniam incident is likely to give you some edge as you already said before. Apart from that why do you think people should vote for you? I am really trying hard to make my constituency free of insurgents. As you are aware that places like Khonsa and Changlang are infested by underground groups. My attempt is to develop these areas so that we can allow the youth with a window of opportunity to inspire them to lay down arms and return to thye mainstream. I have already spent Rs 200 crore for construction of roads and bridges. I have also made it a point to travel to as many villages as possible even in remote areas like Anini and make sure that government schemes cover them. Besides I never stayed in a bunglow nor do I roam around with police escort. I am very much one among them.