Rio urges Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to break deadlock in Naga talks

GUWAHATI: Nagaland’s Core Committee on Naga Political Issue (CCoNPI) headed by chief minister Neiphiu Rio has sought the support of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, as the convener of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), to act as a catalyst in breaking the deadlock in the 25-year-old peace talks by speaking with the Centre.
Sarma travelled to Dimapur in Nagaland on Thursday, on an invitation to participate in the CCoNPI’s close-door consultative meeting, which continued till late in the night.
On the eve of his Dimpaur visit, Sarma had said the ‘Naga political issue’ was a complex one and it must be left to the Centre and the NSCN (IM) to find a solution.
The talks between the Centre and the principal Naga group, NSCN (IM), started in 1997 and continues to remain inconclusive to date. The stalemate is over two demands of NSCN (IM) — the inclusion of the Naga flag and constitution (Yehzabo). While the Centre has outright rejected both the demands, the NSCN (IM) says that the Framework Agreement it signed with the former in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 3, 2015 included the Naga flag and their constitution.
Sarma held a crucial meeting with the Nagaland government’s Core Committee on Naga Political Issue, sources said on Friday. Sarma arrived in Dimapur on Thursday evening and headed to Niathu Resort in Chumoukedima where the meeting was held in the late hours, the sources added.
This was the second time Sarma visited Nagaland to discuss the Naga political issue.