CM asks Nagas to work out acceptable solution to Naga problem

Says, issue can be resolved through dialogue between Indian and Naga leaders and 'not from a third country or elsewhere'

Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang has called upon the Nagas to work out an "acceptable solution" to the Naga political problem so that peace, normalcy and all round development can be ushered in the state.

"Nagas should now accept the realities of the changed times and circumstances and work out a solution which is acceptable to us as well as the government of India," he told a gathering of Naga tribal leaders on the occasion of Tsungremong, a pre-harvest sanctification festival of Ao Nagas at Mokokchung, on Tuesday.

The vexed issue, Zeliang said, can be resolved through dialogue between Indian and Naga leaders and "not from a third country or elsewhere".

He added that the plea of the Naga people at this juncture should be that any solution "should be inclusive of all Nagas and not for a particular tribe or community".

"The approach of the government of the day under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is positive and so we should also be positive in our approach towards a solution," a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office said on Wednesday.

"We have struggled for 70 years without any tangible solution and 70 years is long enough," he said.

Appealing to the Nagas, he said, "Let us not spell out what is possible and what is not possible before the government of India spells out its formula."

Talks are going on within the framework agreement which have brought both the parties closer to each other to arrive at a conclusion, Zeliang said.

Nagas should accept "what India can provide us today, because what India cannot give today will not be possible even after a hundred years", the Chief Minister said.

He lauded NGOs like Naga Hoho, Eastern Nagaland Public Organisation, Naga Students Federation, Eastern NSF, Naga Mothers Association etc for working together for the common good of the Naga people.