Congress today demanded imposition of President's rule in Nagaland, alleging that the NPF-led DAN government "failed" to control the situation in the state as tribal groups opposed to 33 per cent reservation to women in ULBs have paralysed functioning of government offices.
"The NPF led-Democratic Alliance of Nagaland government has completely failed to understand the people and also to govern as almost all the government departments are locked up, no government office has been able to function for almost a week since the bandh started," NPCC president Kewekhape Therie told a press conference here.
"How long will this go on?" he asked, adding that Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee, on January 12, had urged the state government to postpone the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections and have wider consultation with the tribal organisations to bring about a consensus.
He claimed that the government submitted to the demand of the people by nullifying the ULB elections, which itself shows a "complete failure".
"If the elected government is not sensitive or responsive to the peoples' demand, than they are unfit to rule. They should now completely understand that they have lost the moral support of the people and they have lost the moral authority to rule over the people of Nagaland," Therie said.
The present situation can only be calmed with the imposition of President's Rule and holding of early election, he added.
Considering the present situation, President's rule is the best solution and early election should be held so that new MLAs can be elected for the new House to develop consensus on the ULBs, the NPCC president said.
Naga tribal organisations today continued with their indefinite stir by paralysing functioning of government offices demanding Chief Minister T R Zeliang and his cabinet step down.
Various tribal organisations in Nagaland are opposed to holding of elections to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) with 33 per cent reservation of seats for women.
On the decision of the State Cabinet taken on Saturday to approach New Delhi to exempt Nagaland from the purview of Part IX A of the Constitution which deals with municipalities and their composition, Therie said the "it will only embarrass the people of Nagaland as the Nagaland Municipal Act is an Act of the State Assembly.
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"Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) has never ratified the 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution in this matter, and therefore it is not our law but we have only adopted," he said while claiming that "it is the prerogative of the State Assembly to scrap the whole of Nagaland Municipal (NM) Act, or if they want to amend, delete and add is also upto them."
"Why should the State Government go to Government of India as the Article 243T was adopted by the State Assembly in 2006 and added to our Municipal Act without being asked by GoI to enforce it," he said.
Therie maintained that above the State List, Nagaland has the privilege with the special provisions for Naga people under Article 371(A) of the Constitution, which is not a prohibitory, but a freedom given to the State Assembly.
"Under the provisions of Article 371(A) and the State List, NLA has sovereign power to make any law, and therefore since NM Act is an Act of the State Assembly, it is the prerogative of the Assembly either to remove, add or delete," he said.
