GUWAHATI: Protestors in Nagaland’s Mokokchung town ransacked the offices of district magistrate, election department and ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) even as the state Cabinet decided to withhold the process of elections to the urban local bodies (ULBs).
Following the Gauhati High Court ruling of Tuesday, polling in some of the 12 ULBs took place on Wednesday as per the schedule. But whether it stands valid will be decided by the Election Commission in the wake of Cabinet’s decision to withhold the entire poll process.
“Keeping in view the sentiments of people, and the prevailing situation, the Cabinet decided to ask the State Election Commission to withhold the ongoing process of elections to the ULBs and take up with the remaining postponed process of the elections as notified by the Commission on 31.1.2017,” read the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday morning.
According to reports reaching here, the protestors in Mokokchung barged into the offices of the DM and others by overpowering the police personnel deployed there.
Two people were killed and several others injured in police firing in commercial hub Dimapur on Tuesday night. The incident occurred when the protestors attempted to barge into the private residence of chief minister TR Zeliang. Seven others were injured in a similar incident of police firing outside the DM’s office in Longleng. The Cabinet decided to set up a judicial inquiry commission to probe the incidents.
The bodies of the two persons were taken to capital Kohima, 74 km south of Dimapur, where the last rites will be performed on Thursday.
Several tribal organisations are boycotting the polls in protest against 33% reservation for women. The Nagas are governed by customary laws, which are protected under Article 371(A) of the Constitution. The male-dominated tribal bodies argue that quota will infringe upon the Article as customary laws do not endorse quota.
Most parts of the state including all major towns including Dimapur and Kohima remained shutdown in the aftermath.
“The situation in the town is very tense but under control. A curfew has been enforced in the region since 8 PM on Tuesday,” the police told Express.
The state government had postponed the polls earlier, but hearing a petition filed by a Naga woman, the Gauhati High Court had on Tuesday ruled that they should be held as scheduled.
Out of the total 32 ULBs in the state, candidates won unopposed in three ULBs while 10 others recorded nil nomination. Keeping in mind the volatile situation, the Election Commission postponed the polls in seven ULBs. Most of these are in the major towns, including Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung.
Earlier, the tribal bodies had asked the candidates to withdraw or face excommunication. As a result, 140 candidates had pulled out of the polls. Seventeen of the 395 candidates in the fray were “excommunicated for 30 years” by a tribal organisation.
Rajnath calls up Zeliang
Union home minister Rajnath Singh called up Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang on Wednesday and enquired about the law and order situation in the state.
“The chief minister briefed Singh about the unfortunate incidents and also about the decision of the Cabinet to withhold the polls to the ULBs. Singh told the chief minister that the decision taken by the state government to fulfill the Constitutional obligation of holding the elections was not wrong at all, and advised him to convince the people of the state to accept the reality,” an official statement said.