Manipur takes centrestage in Nagaland polls

Manipur is invariably raked up in Naga politics. This is no exception this assembly election in Nagaland, scheduled for February 23.

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio has stirred up a hornet’s nest by calling his Manipur counterpart O Ibobi Singh as “one of the biggest enemies of the Nagas”.

Recently, Rio had held Ibobi responsible for the “suppression” of the Nagas in Congress-ruled Manipur. He also took potshots at the Congress leaders in Nagaland dubbing them as “agents of outsiders” and representatives of the adversaries of Nagas. What ruffled Rio’s feathers was the Congress leaders’ recent meeting with Ibobi in Imphal.

The Manipur cabinet viewed Rio’s remark as “hate speech” and decided to move the Election Commission for action against him.

“The cabinet has taken serious note of the hate speech made by the Nagaland chief minister as it could spark off communal tension and leave an adverse impact on the inter-state relations,” Manipur government spokesperson and minister M Okendro Singh said.

Rio’s comments have also drawn censure from Congress veteran and former Nagaland chief minister SC Jamir who said Rio should not have made such “atrocious” comment.

“Why should he try to gain political mileage by exploiting a situation?” Jamir asked, insisting that Nagaland must maintain a good relationship with Manipur as they share common problems.

Jamir also played down Rio’s criticism of the Congress leaders saying their meeting with Ibobi was part of the efforts to work out how the Nagas of Manipur could be best accommodated in alternative administrative arrangement.

“This won’t be possible without the cooperation of the Manipur chief minister. Therefore, I don’t find any harm in such consultation,” he said.

Among others, the conflict between the Nagas and the Manipuris stems from Naga extremists’ demand for the creation of “Greater Nagaland” by slicing off the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur apart from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.