The need to name Local Area Development Programme after former Naga CM Vamuzo is justified ::: But we should not forget its "history"

The need to name Local Area Development Programme (LADP) for each MLAs vis-a-vis all 60 assembly constituencies as the 'Vamuzo LADP' has been mooted by NPF legislator Achumbemo Kikon and endorsed by the Chakhesang Public Organization (CPO) at the 25th Death Anniversary of former chief minister of Nagaland on March 22nd.

This is a good move and perhaps also a belated one to an extent. Nevertheless it was a wise suggestion but this should not be linked to any mischievous political activity by any concerned player. 

Hopefully, former CM Shurhozelie and former Speaker Thenucho will do well not to allow linking 'NPF-NDPP' merger to this proposal to honour Vamuzo. 

I say this especially because NPF may be 'out of power' as of now but unlike NDPP (a party of party hoppers), the NPF has considerable CREDIBILITY and probably Vamuzo would not have approved of many things happening these days.

But the LADP has a story of its own. It was originally named the Compact Area Development Scheme (CADS) by the Vamuzo government and interestingly it was opposed by the Congress party then.  

Vamuzo 

Vamuzo had lost the 1989 assembly election to veteran M Vero from Chazouba. Even his immediate junior in the party Shurhozelie had lost Northern Angami I. 

K L Chishi had become Leader of the Opposition and in that position, the MLA from Atoizu  gave a stellar performance leaving the then S C Jamir government grievously hurt on the alleged issues of corruption and non-performance. 

Chishi once famously said - "Even heaven agrees, there is corruption in Nagaland". 

The context was a loud lightning thunder while Chishi was speaking in the old Assembly Hall which had tinned roof. 

After the V P Singh government came to power in Delhi ousting the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress, as usual (in that era) defection of 12 legislators took place. Even as 10 MLAs were disqualified; the Governor M M Thomas dismissed Jamir and invited Chishi to form government.  

Blogger and Jamir : 2022 

1998 - when Jamir was sworn in as CM 

However, the likes of S C Jamir and I K Sema decided not to allow Chishi ministry survive for long.

Jamir later said - "We went like a hunting bird and found Vamuzo who could break his own party to become Chief Minister".  

The Congress leaders perhaps underestimated Vamuzo's political acumen.  Once in power, Vamuzo manipulated things to strengthen the NPC (previous version of NPF). 

Chubatemjen Ao, who was Chishi's Finance Minister, used to joke: "Our Chief Minister's policy is simple, divide Congress and rule".  

By then Chubatemjen had become a diehard -regionalist and is still one. 

However, regionalist Chalie Kevichusa lost trust in the triumvir of Vizol-Vamuzo-Shurhozelie and quit NPC for life and had floated Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 1992. 

Vamuzo announced launching of the scheme CADS initially with Rs 75 lakh for each 60 constituencies. 

The Congress legislative wing led by Jamir and others opposed it saying normal wisdom about governance and development is that the fund allocation should be need-based.   

Chishi, who became unattached MLA, and was then back siding with the Congress -- once told the Assembly: 

"I am opposing this Compact Area Development Scheme because it defeats the purpose of governance and development based on needs. Respected Shri Jamir, please bear with me; Mokokchung (then a developed district HQ) should not get the same amount and attention as compared to my area Atoizu". 

K L Chishi 

Actually there was some confusion about the CADS in Congress circle. The then pradesh Congress president and Lok Sabha MP, Shikiho Sema once called me to his Daklane House and said 

- "Sometime, we Congress people do not read our own election manifesto".  

A candid observer that he was -- Shikiho also told me --- "You media people are also intellectuals but lazy". He meant we also did not bother to refer to Congress manifesto about the CADS. 

However, Late Shikiho said -- "Our concept of CADS would have been different and better". 

Answering questions, Shikiho also claimed -- "Vamuzo is a smart politician....the CADS was suggested to him by his friend A M Gokhale (IAS officer - who later also became Chief Secretary)." 

After a few days I asked Vamuzo, "Was the project suggested to you by Mr Gokhale". Vamuzo had replied in negative.  

Actually there is another anecdote - worth sharing. The Vamuzo-Gokhale team had earlier worked quite effectively with the Village Development Board (VDB) scheme. The project made news even at the national level.

Former IAS officer Khekiye K Sema (now a strong proponent of an early Solution) had penned about the VDB project he worked on in rural areas  in his book 

--'Encountering Life – Antics of a Government Servant'. 

Once I asked Gokhale on why people in Nagaland generally spoke about Vamuzo-A M Gokhale friendship. "Basically I am a civil servant and Mr Vamuzo is a political boss ... My father was a socialist and they both (Vamuzo and his dad) knew each other".  

Gokhale on one occasion had famously said -- "New Delhi still behaves like Aurangzeb's Delhi" -- implication was that the ivory tower experts and Neta-Babu combo in the national capital hardly appreciated the hard works put on by various states and departments in far-flung areas.

ends