When Jamir advised Bodos to work for regional council

 When Jamir advised Bodos to work for regional council
 
: But he favoured statehood for 

Veteran Naga leader Dr S C Jamir on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court order on the Section 6A of the Citizenship Act and the Assam Accord and said a political agreement should get priority.

"It is a balanced and wise judgement. The Assam Accord was a political agreement and hence it should be respected. This is what we have always spoken about the 16 Point Agreement for Nagaland," Jamir

told this journalist in a brief interaction at his Chumoukedima residence.

In a significant judgement, the Supreme Court last week upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants from Bangladesh who entered Assam before March 25, 1971.

To a question, he also stated that the Neiphiu

Rio government has erred in allowing the ENPO leaders to go to Centre

with their grievances while by-passing the authorities of the state government.

"The present political leadership in Nagaland has done a disservice to itself and its powers when it told the ENPO leaders that if they have any grievance they can go to the centre," Jamir said. 

In reference to the Supreme Court order on the section 6A  vis-a-vis citizenship law, the former Nagaland Chief Minister said -- "Various Assam leaders from the Bodo areas and also Khashi and Garo hills used to interact with me on these".

"For sometime I was a Union Minister in the centre.... so when these leaders including the likes of Capt WA Sangma used to meet and interact with me; I always gave them very reasonable and practical advise," he said adding, "While I was Union Deputy Minister, Bodo leaders came to Delhi once to submit their memorandum narrating only history of the Bodos. I advised them to prepare their political points only. I even told them to revise their memorandum in tune with our 16 Point Memorandum.

"I told Bodo leaders to be practical and ask for regional autonomous councils, it will work well for Bodo areas".

However, to leaders from Khasi and Garo hills; Jamir had suggested to work hard for statehood. "That was a different era, some leaders were fond of phrases like Scotland formula or model; but I said this will not work. They all worked for a new state and I am glad it was conceded by the centre".

Answering questions, Jamir said the issue of influx of Bangladeshis is a politically crucial matter for the state of Assam but the Assam Accord signed during the time of Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 was able to address the issue.

"It's an important and emotive issue...But Solution is possible only when the goverment takes a balanced view of things and does so with maturity," Dr Jamir said. 

The Section 6A was inserted in 1985 into the Citizenship Act of 1955 following the signing of the Assam Accord between the then Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre and the agitating groups led by Prafulla Mahanta, including All Assam Students Union.

Now the new verdict of the Supreme Court is believed to give a boost to those opposed to grant of Indian citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam after March 25, 1971.

In the context of Nagaland, Dr Jamir said the Modi government should also display maturity and sign the Naga peace pact at the earliest.

Answering a question on Eastern Nagaland, he said, "Even without going into the merits of the case vis-a-vis the demand for FNT, I will say an elected State Government should behave like

the guardian for the entire state. The Chief Minister has to be the custodian.

Our incumbent Chief Minister (Rio) should have conducted himself more responsibly and sensibly".

Dr Jamir, who was Governor for four states Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha, said:

"the State Legislature and the people residing in a State must be consulted and involved in the 

decision making process. The same argument was placed by the erstwhile Marxist Chief Minister 

Jyoti Basu when demands for a new state had come from Darjeeling and other hill areas in West Bengal". 

Ends