The Opposition parties have raised apprehensions about the “historic” nature of the Naga peace deal that the Government signed with the NSCN(IM) on Monday. While the Congress said the party’s chief ministers in the north-east were not consulted during the discussions, the Left parties urged the Centre to make the treaty public.
The BJP, however, has refuted all allegations and said the treaty was signed after following due procedures, including discussions with affected States.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi accused the Governm-ent of insulting the three north-eastern states – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam – ruled by the Congress. She said the Centre did not take them into confidence.
“This government keeps saying that they will hold consultations with all, will take the views of all Chief Ministers. Then what happened? Their arrogance is now even more clear. And it is an insult not only to the CMs, but to the people of these states and to the federal structure of our country,” Sonia Gandhi told reporters here on Thursday.
Govt’s arrogance on show “Nobody has even bothered to brief them (CMs), perhaps not in detail, but in a wide sense. After all, our Chief Ministers are directly affected…From this I take that this government is arrogant,” she said. She added that the content of the deal had not been conveyed to the Opposition.
Obstructionist, says BJP The BJP responded by showing earlier statements of the Congress CMs welcoming the accord. “Today on an issue of national security, you are opposing. Whose interest are you serving? Congress has reached the absolute nadir, absolute bottom in their obstructionist politics,” BJP leader and Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. She added that the Centre had called a meeting of Chief Ministers whose states could be affected by the accord but those from Congress boycotted it.
The CPI(M) said there was need for caution before terming the agreement “historic”. “It appears that this is only a framework agreement,” the party said.