Headlines
Sonia flays government on Naga pact, BJP denies charge
New Delhi, Aug 6
Congress president Sonia
Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the
government on the Naga peace accord, but the BJP rejected the charge and
accused the opposition party of "playing politics on a national issue".
"We
are really shocked that the prime minister (Narendra Modi) didn't even
think of taking into confidence the chief ministers of Manipur, Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh, which are the directly affected states," Sonia
Gandhi told reporters in the parliament complex.
"It is the
arrogance on part of this government. How can an accord be signed
without consulting the chief ministers that are directly affected, even
if the accord is being termed as historic," she asked.
"I have no doubt that it may be historic, but what about consulting our chief ministers?" Sonia Gandhi said.
"Their
arrogance is now even more clear. It is not just an insult to the chief
ministers but to people of the states and the federal structure of the
country," the Congress president added.
Rahul Gandhi termed the
government's move to sign the pact with the National Socialist Council
of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) an "insult" to the people of Manipur, Assam and
Arunachal Pradesh as they were not even informed about it.
"It's
an insult to every single citizen in these three states and it's an
insult to the people of India the way this government works," he said.
The
Bharatiya Janata Party denied the Congress charge and accused the
opposition party of playing "politics even on the issue of national
security".
"Gandhi's charges are far from the truth as the
Congress-ruled states were consulted, but they chose to boycott the
meeting," union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference
here.
"How can the Congress chief question the accord when its
party leaders, including Ninong Ering and Assam chief minister welcomed
it soon after the announcement," she wondered.
The minister said
the Narendra Modi government believed in co-operative federalism and
always consulted states on every issue, including land acquisition and
Goods and Services Tax bills and even on the reconstitution of National
Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
Sitharaman also showed to the media copies of tweets from Congress chief ministers.
Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi tweeted: "I appreciate peace in Nagaland n
welcome settlement of Naga issues. But I will oppose tooth n nail any
move that affects Assam's interests. To allay apprehension of the
people, the prime minister should make his stand clear that the Naga
peace accord does not affect the interest of Assam..."
Arunachal
Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki wrote on his Twitter account:
"Welcomed the initiative of the Centre to bring a peaceful solution to
the prolonged Naga political issue."
However, Tuki deleted his tweet later.