Consultation with NSCN (IM) is on : Rio

DIMAPUR, May 19
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday said that consultation with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) is underway to resolve the Naga political issue. Rio's remarks came after he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his North Block office this evening.
Replying to a question over the NSCN (IM) issue, the Nagaland CM told ANI that "consultation with NSCN (IM) is on". Rio, however, did not speak about the issue regarding his meeting with the Home Minister.
Nagaland CM's remarks came days after Centre's Interlocutor Akshaya Kumar Mishra held the third round of talks with NSCN (IM) and assured it that the final solution to the vexed Naga political issue will be based on the Framework Agreement of 2015.
In 2015, the Union Government signed a Framework Agreement with the NSCN (IM), one of the largest Naga groups, to find a solution to the Naga political issue. The negotiation is yet to be concluded.
Before this, the Indian gGovernment signed a formal ceasefire agreement with the NSCN (IM) in 1997 and it was extended indefinitely in 2007. The umbrella NSCN group that came into being in 1980 following the failure of the 1975 Shillong Accord has further split into many groups. (ANI)
Our Staff Reporter adds : Significantly Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland Y Patton had said on May 18 that the separate Flag and Constitution demand of the NSCN (IM) is standing in the way of the final pact.
The Deputy Chief Minister had also urged the IM group of the NSCN to come onboard and sign the final pact before the Assembly elections in Nagaland scheduled in 2023.
Y Patton spoke out his mind while speaking to the The New Indian Express on May 18 at New Delhi before a crucial meeting with former Intelligence Bureau Special Director AK Mishra, the Centre’s Interlocutor for the Naga peace process.
Patton had said, “We all hope for the best that a breakthrough is achieved before the polls.”
Speaking one day earlier to TNIE, Patton had said, “Otherwise, the peace process could suffer a setback.”
“It’s been 25 years since the 1997 ceasefire between the NSCN (IM) and the Centre. The Government, too, must take steps to settle this issue as Nagaland will go to polls in 10 months,” Patton had added.
Asked if the NSCN (IM)’s inflexible position on a separate Flag and Constitution could push back a settlement, Patton had said “only the issue of a separate Flag and Constitution stood in the way of “final inking” of peace agreement.