NPF slams Rio on steps taken up for COVID-19

Newmai News Network
DIMAPUR, May 14: The Naga People’s Front (NPF) has strongly criticized the Neiphiu Rio led Nagaland state government on the measures taken up with regard to the COVID-19 issue in the state.
On Thursday, the NPF expressed its regret saying the way the Nagaland government is handling the present situation is not poor. “No concrete roadmap has been shown by the government of the day in managing the pandemic even after elapse of more than 50 days of nationwide lock down,” said the NPF in a statement.
According to the NPF statement, one of the “mischievousness” ventured by the Neiphiu Rio led government is increasing the cess on petrol and diesel on the pretext of COVID-19 “which is nothing but deliberate day light robbery as major chunk of the burden would be borne by not the haves but by the have nots”.
The statement then stated, “In what can be described as the trait of Neiphiu Rio in taking the Naga people for a ride, the Chief Minister during the meeting with various civil society organisations of Dimapur at the Rhododendron Hall Chumukedima delved mainly on issues which has nothing to do with the COVID19 for which the meeting was called in the first place”.
It then said that Rio must have mistaken the said meeting for a budget session in the Assembly “as he started with the State deficit figures which is absurd and holds no relevance”. Yet, according to the NPF, Rio must have stated and brought the deficit issue in the meeting out of guilty conscience as his tenure in 2003 started with zero deficit after the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government magnanimously gave a one time grant to wipe out negative deficit of the State. “Now for him to blame the DAN-III government for the huge deficit which he had incurred during his 11 years tenure at the helm makes for a good comedy show,” the NPF ridiculed the Nagaland government. It added that what Rio must realise by now is that no matter how much he wants to justify his “corrupt ways”, the Nagas today fully understand the sort of man he is when in power.
Furthermore, the NPF said that “his attempts to tinker with the delimitation process which the Delimitation Commission has ordered is evident from his address to the gathering”, while asking, “Again, what has delimitation got to do with this pandemic?”
The third “unrelated issue” which Rio managed to raise in the meeting was the Naga political issue, said the NPF statement.
The NPF said it is baffled by the “irresponsible” statements of the Chief Minister of late at various public platforms.