Rahul Gandhi in Meghalaya: Nagaland poll boycott result of Modi's failed peace accord that 'no one got', Congress chief says

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that the party is yet to decide whether it will participate in the Nagaland Assembly polls, slated to be held on 27 February. He was in Meghalaya for a two-day visit to meet party leaders and workers.

Rahul’s statement comes in the backdrop of the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hoho and Civil Organisations’ (CCNTCHOC) call for a poll boycott. Urging the Centre to find a “solution before election”, eleven political parties in the state, including the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Congress, had issued a joint statement conveying their decision to not file nominations for the elections.

In 1998, Congress was the only party to ignore the poll boycott called by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Issak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) and Naga Hoho, proponents of Greater Nagaland or Nagalim. It ended up sweeping 53 of the 60 seats.

The bone of contention is the long-pending resolution of the Naga issue. The Naga Peace Accord signed between the BJP-led Centre and NSCN-IM in August 2015 seems to have made no headway.

During an interaction with media persons from Meghalaya in the State Convention Centre in Shillong, AICC chief Rahul blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the situation in Nagaland, and said no one really knew what the peace accord contained. He said he had called up then Congress chief ministers of Assam and Manipur, and even the Ministry of Home Affairs, to know the details of the agreement, but they too did not have a clue about its contents. “Nobody understands what the prime minister signed. That is his style. He used the same idea when he brought demonetisation and GST at midnight. He has no sense of what he is saying,” Rahul said.

He said what was now happening in Nagaland is the reaction of the style of functioning of the BJP government at the Centre. “People now don’t believe in what he says. He does not have credibility,” he added.

The CCNTHCO letter requesting Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat to defer the elections for an early solution to the seven-decade-old Naga insurgency did not work. They had threatened to impose a statewide bandh on 1 February if the Election Commission issued the election notification for the 60-member Nagaland Assembly. While the Nagaland chief electoral officer Abhijit Sinha has said they are all prepared to conduct the polls, it has been confirmed that the bandh will be held as scheduled.

‘NPP is BJP’s proxy’

Having already lost five of his party MLAs, who quit the Meghalaya Assembly late December to join National People’s Party (NPP), the Gandhi scion minced no words on Tuesday in cautioning electorates. “There is no price, there is no amount of money that can buy the people of Meghalaya. BJP may buy a few leaders here and there, as few leaders may defect to BJP or their proxy the NPP,” he said.

In Meghalaya, the Congress has been in power since 2009. On the question of forging an alliance in the run-up to the 27 February polls, Rahul said it was for the state unit of the party to decide on the issue. “We can approach for an alliance if we share the same vision and ideas. We don’t like to make opportunistic alliances,” he said.

BJP leads the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a grand coalition of various regional parties in the region. From Meghalaya, United Democratic Party (UDP) and National People’s Party (NPP) were a part of NEDA. However BJP, NPP and UDP are fighting this election separately.

The UDP has forged an alliance with the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) in Khasi-Jaintia Hills region of the state, while in the Garo Hills region UDP will combine forces with the Garo National Council (GNC) for the Meghalaya Assembly polls.

Kyrmenlang Uriah is a Meghalaya-based journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com , a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.