Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM Monday claimed that the objection of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the proposal for a separate flag and Constitution for the Nagas was delaying the process to find a solution to the decades-long Naga conflict.
In a statement, the outfit currently in ceasefire said that RSS stalled the process and it questioned the demands. "The irony is that this matter was already resolved long back but the RSS factor came in between questioning how there can be two flags and two constitutions. The manifesto of the RSS/Hindutva sharply contradicted the principle agreement of the Framework Agreement. The actual point of delay started from here," the outfit said.
Many Naga groups including the NSCN-IM claim that Nagas were never part of India and have carried out violent movements for decades to restore sovereignty. The outfit has been in a ceasefire with the government since 1997.
The NSCN-IM signed a Framework Agreement (FA) with the government in 2015, based on which the final agreement was to be signed. The outfit claimed that the government agreed for a separate flag and the Constitution in the 2015 agreement but the same was denied by the former interlocutor and former Nagaland Governor R N Ravi. Former director of Intelligence Bureau A K Mishra is the present interlocutor.
"In the official talks, neither Mr. R N Ravi nor Mr. A K Mishra ever says that there is no flag and constitution in the Framework Agreement. Ironically, the twists and turns of the flip flopping habitual betraying character of the Government of India come up to take the center stage and sow the seeds of confusion in order to disown the FA. Certainly, GoI is entirely responsible for the delay," the outfit said.
The government also signed another agreement with Naga National Political Groups, a forum of seven other insurgent groups, in 2017.
The NSCN-IM, however, said the two agreements have divided the Naga people. "If the GoI is genuinely sincere to go for an early solution, why is it pursuing two agreements for one people and one common issue? These two agreements are parallel in nature, one is within the Indian constitution and the other is outside the purview of the Indian Constitution. With this unwarranted policy the Government of India is testing the nerve of the Nagas and delaying the whole process. It is time for the Government of India to make her stand very clear on these two agreements and which one is to be used for the final agreement. Simply inviting the NSCN to New Delhi for peace talk without going through the detoxification process will not help expedite the Naga political solution," the outfit said.