Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha representative, S Suprongmeren Jamir addresses the Lower House of the Parliament during the ‘Discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25’ on July 30. (Photo Courtesy: @SansadTV/YouTube)
• In maiden speech, Supongmeren Jamir highlights NE neglects
• Calls Union Budget 2024-25 ‘empty rhetoric’
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 30
Nagaland’s Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha S Suprongmeren Jamir today urged the Government of India (GoI) to implement the Naga political solutions immediately and prioritise two key projects for the State.
In his maiden speech in Parliament, apart from his oath or affirmation as a member on June 25, Jamir noted that there are two agreements for Naga Political Solutions, signed with GoI in 2015 and 2017.
The MP was referring to the ‘Framework Agreement’ signed on August 3, 2015 between GoI and NSCN (IM) and the ‘Agreed Position’ signed on November 17, 2017 with the Working Committee, Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs), comprising various Naga political groups.
However, joining the Discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25, Jamir implied that people have been waiting for nine and five years, respectively, for the implementation of these agreements, but nothing has been done.
“For the last nine years and seven years, it was not indicated in the budget,” he said.
Nagaland’s lone representative in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament also noted that there are talks of rehabilitation, but these were never mentioned in the schemes and the budget.
Jamir further claimed that the GoI announced on October 31, 2019, that the “Naga peace talk is successfully completed.”
Later, addressing the 5th session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on January 17, 2020, the then Nagaland Governor, RN Ravi, who was also serving as the Interlocutor to the Naga peace talks, announced that the Naga political solution was resolved, he maintained.
The Governor also congratulated the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for the same, he added. However, Jamir stated that the implementation is still awaited.
He further noted that, contrary to this, the GoI is still enforcing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in the state while the ceasefire monitoring is not “doing well.”
Consequently, he asserted that people are being “killed in daylight” while “anti-elements” are collecting taxes. There are 24 NPGs in Nagaland, apart from anti-elements, he added.
Accordingly, Jamir urged the Speaker to communicate to the Union Home Ministry that “we want the immediate implementation of Naga political solutions.”
Meanwhile, he also urged the GoI, particularly the Ministry of Finance, to make two priority projects a reality.
Addressing the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, who was present at the discussion, Jamir pointed out that her predecessor, the late Arun Jaitley, in his budget speech in 2015, announced that an Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) would be established in Nagaland. However, it is still not established, he added.
The other priority project, according to the MP, was the establishment of direct air connectivity to Nagaland’s state capital, Kohima. Nagaland is the only state whose capital is not connected by an airport, he added. Accordingly, he requested the GoI to keep the two projects as a priority.
Neglect of the North-East
Jamir criticised the apparent neglect of the North-East in the union budget despite the ‘Act East Policy.’ Among other points, he noted the lack of specific allocations for road infrastructure in the North-East in the budget. He also expressed concerns over the omission of flood mitigation efforts for the region, despite the frequent natural calamities affecting many states.
In the budget speech, the Finance Minister did assure assistance to Assam for flood management and related projects as well as Sikkim, but was silent on other states. Jamir also criticised the government for neglecting the rich cultural heritage and tourism potential of the North-East despite regular lip service.
Budget – rhetoric over substance
Meanwhile, Jamir stated that the Union Budget 2024-25 was more of empty rhetoric rather than offering any substantive pragmatic solutions.
To this end, he charged the Government with adopting its characteristic approach of ‘headline grabbing’ rhetoric but failing the pressing issues facing the middle class and overlooking the concerns affecting the common person, he said.
The MP also targeted the GoI on the issues of unemployment, lower allocation to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), and just 3.5% of the total budget for agriculture and the allied sector.
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