BJP Government Can Withdraw Special Provisions Given To Nagaland: Congress

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said the signing of the framework agreement for a solution to the Naga Political Issue was an outcome of years of painstaking negotiations led by governments of his party but the details of it are known by no one.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima, he appealed to the people of the state to show the door to those who have made hollow promises and talk of "double-engine" government that does not have any tracks.

"On August 3, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the signing of the framework agreement for the resolution of the Naga Issue, and this was welcomed as everybody, and the Congress particularly, wants peace, social harmony and development in Nagaland. But eight years have gone by and we are still waiting for the details of what the agreement was," said Mr Ramesh.

"Based on the years of political contact made by the Congress (with leaders of Naga groups) since the mid-1990s, finally in 2015, the framework agreement was signed,” he said.

The priority of the successive Congress governments was to bring peace back to Nagaland without which neither the administration nor economic activity would be successful, he said.

Maintaining that the BJP-led government at the Centre abolished Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Ramesh said a government that can do away with Article 370 can also abolish Article 371A, which provides for certain special provisions for Nagaland.

Congress created Nagaland and introduced Article 371A in Constitution to protect, preserve and promote the interest of the people of the state, he said.

"This is a very important election in the history of Nagaland and an opportunity to reject the forces which made false promises in 2018, and an opportunity to put trust and confidence in a party that respects and celebrates India's many diversities," Mr Ramesh said.

Development has come to a complete halt in the last five years in the state, while corruption has increased astronomically, he alleged.

Asked about the prospects of the Congress's 23 candidates contesting the February 27 election to the 60-member assembly, Mr Ramesh said he was hopeful of a government in which the Congress will have a very important role to play.

Congress does not have any members in the present assembly.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)