Kohima, April 8 Nagaland Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio said on Monday that his party will never compromise with the faith, tradition, and identity of the Naga people.
Addressing a coordination meeting of the NDPP-led People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA), Rio also said the party’s candidate for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland, Chumben Murry, is the best nominee for the state.
The NDPP is a partner of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). With 12 MLAs in the 60-member Nagaland Assembly, the BJP is a vital ally of the opposition-free PDA government in the state.
The Chief Minister also said that the NDPP will always fight for the rights and privileges of the minorities and the well-being of the Christians.
Stating that the unresolved Naga political issue is the major concern of Nagaland, he underlined that the state has to depend on the Central government due to a resource crunch.
Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts towards the development of the northeast region, Rio said that PM Modi is a farsighted leader who always gives priority to equal development and welfare for all.
While the NDA aims to win more than 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the opposition Congress’ prospect is bleak as the INDIA bloc is in disarray, the NDPP leader claimed, adding that during the UPA rule at the Centre, the Congress did nothing for Nagaland.
“The BJP government led by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee sanctioned a railway line and the four-lane Dimapur-Kohima road project, but the Congress-led UPA government stalled these projects. The Congress government also imposed President’s Rule in Nagaland in 2008,” the Chief Minister said.
Three candidates are in the fray for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland that will go to the polls on April 19.
Besides NDPP’s Chumben Murry, Congress’ S. Supongmeren Jamir and Hayithung Tungoe Lotha, an Independent nominee, are contesting the polls this time.
A debutant in the Parliamentary polls, former state minister Murry is the combined candidate of the NDPP-led PDA.
A physician-turned-politician, Murry was the political advisor to the Chief Minister until recently.
State Congress President Jamir is also contesting the parliamentary elections for the first time.
Independent candidate Lotha is a social activist and entrepreneur who unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on a National People's Party (NPP) ticket.
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