‘Give peace a chance,’ Himanta Biswa Sarma says during Kohima visit

NEDA Convener and Assam Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa who is currently an active facilitator of the Naga peace talks said that the Union Home Ministry is actively engaged

NEDA Convener and Assam Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa who is currently an active facilitator of the Naga peace talks said that the Union Home Ministry is actively engaged in working out a solution to the NSCN-IM’s demand for a separate flag and constitution.

Sarma during his crucial visit to Kohima on Sunday held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio at his official residence. The visit comes days after TR Zeliang attended a joint press conference with CM Neiphiu Rio on the Naga Peace Talks.

Sarma has been entrusted by the Centre to assist in clearing the deadlock in the peace process after the NSCN-IM hardened its stand of the contentious demands of a separate flag and constitution.

After the meeting, Sarma told Northeast Live that these are complex issues and a solution cannot be expected immediately.

“It was only a courtesy call to chief minister Rio and no serious discussions were held”, Sarma said.

“There is a set of government officials, who are actively engaged with the NSCN(IM)s collective leadership, and I am convinced there will be some good news at some point of time. But these are very complex issues you cannot get a solution just out of one, two or three meetings. This is a complex issue and you need to resolve it bit by bit.

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“The officials in the ministry of home affairs, and the NSCN(IM) are making progress, but what is happening or what has happened or what will happen will be difficult for us to comment at this stage.

“Solution has to be one, but let the discussions be concluded with NSCN(IM) first and then we will take the common draft to everybody we should go step by step,” the NEDA convenor said.

He added that for the future of the Nagas, the political parties and groups in the state have to go beyond their ideologies for the greater interest of the future of the Naga people.

Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also called upon the ruling coalition and opposition to come together on the vexed Naga political issue.

It is to be noted that Sarma had recently met with representatives of various Naga stakeholder organisations in Guwahati over the peace talks.

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