Rijiju criticises CMs' U-turn - Ibobi meets PM & home minister on peace accord with NSCN-IM

Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju unveils the
plaque for the NIA building in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos

SUMIR KARMAKAR, TT, Guwahati, Aug. 8: The Centre today hit out at the three Congress chief ministers of the Northeast who had yesterday accused it of betraying the nation for their U-turn over the Naga peace accord after having initially welcomed it.

Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju, who was in the city today, said the chief ministers of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh had contradicted their earlier statements on the direction of AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

"I was initially happy to hear the three chief ministers welcoming it when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the agreement with the NSCN (I-M) faction and a broader framework was laid. Suddenly they were summoned to Delhi and the way they paraded before the media yesterday was not good," Rijiju said after laying the foundation stone of a new office and residential building of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at Nazirakhat, on the outskirts of the city. The NIA office here looks after the seven states of the region.

R.N. Ravi, the Centre's interlocutor for talks with Naga groups, had signed an agreement with the NSCN (I-M) in the presence of the Prime Minister on August 3 but its details are yet to be disclosed.

Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and demanded a copy of the Naga Peace Accord.

Ibobi Singh and his counterparts in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Tarun Gogoi and Nabam Tuki, had yesterday said they would fight for the interests of their states, indicating that they would not accept the deal if it affects any change in the geographical boundaries of their states. The NSCN (I-M) has been demanding Nagalim or Greater Nagaland, comprising all the contiguous Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and some portions of neighbouring Myanmar.

During his meeting with the home minister this morning, which was also attended by Ravi, Ibobi Singh told Rajnath Singh that the people of Manipur were anxious to know about the details of the Naga peace accord as they had apprehensions that it might affect the territorial integrity of the state, an official source said.

The Union home minister assured Ibobi Singh that the accord was just a framework and would not affect the territorial boundaries of the neighbouring states of Nagaland.

He said the Centre would invite the state governments for discussion while working out the final shape of the accord.

Modi also assured Ibobi Singh during their meeting this afternoon that everything would be discussed with the state governments concerned before the accord is finalised.

Sources said the accord guarantees Manipur's territorial integrity but details were not being revealed as autonomy for Manipur's Naga hills had to be discussed. If disclosed prematurely, it could embarrass Muivah.

Nagaland chief minister T.R. Zeliang also met Modi and Rajnath Singh today, the sources said.

In Guwahati, Rijiju refused to talk about the possibility of any change in the territories of the three states after details of the deal with the Naga group is worked out. He only said that it was a step in securing complete peace in the Northeast.

"The security situation in the Northeast has improved but we need complete peace. It was a good step for that. A framework agreement has been reached on whose basis the next course of action will be taken. When the final agreement is made, the home ministry will tell them (the Opposition). I want to reassure that the sentiments and interests of the states will not be bypassed while working out the details. It should not be made a political issue," he said.

Terming security as the primary requirement for realising the Centre's dream of transforming the Northeast into a commercial hub of the country, Rijiju said some elements who were against development in the region were "playing games" from outside the country.

"Many youths in the region have been wrongly influenced by some antisocial elements. Those who take up arms in the name of doing good to their community and kill their own people are the biggest threat to the community and society. The Northeast should not be known for violence and bandhs but for its beauty, greenery, biodiversity and culture," he said.

The new NIA office and residential building whose foundation stone was laid by Rijiju will be built on five acres of land at a cost of Rs 33 crore. It is likely to be ready in two years.

NIA director-general Sharad Kumar said 24 cases have been registered in the Northeast, mostly related to militant attacks, since the elite agency opened its office here in July 2011. At present, the NIA operates from a rented accommodation in the city.

At the NIA function, Rijiju lauded the army's role in tackling the problem of militancy and improving the security scenario in the region. "The army has always led us from the front and helped in area domination in the region," he said.

The general officer commanding (GOC) of the army's 4 Corps Lt. Gen. Sharad Chand, Assam chief secretary V.K. Pipersenia, the director-general of Assam police, Khagen Sarma and others attended the function.

Additional reporting by Khelen Thokchom in Imphal