Centre to hold urgent talks with NSCN (IM), NNPGS

Delegations of the NSCN (IM) and NNPGs will be leaving for New Delhi soon for talks with the union government leaders

The Government of India will hold urgent talks with the NSCN (IM) and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) with the twin agenda of moving towards a final solution to the long-standing Naga issue and to try and deescalate the situation in Manipur as neutral entities.

Well-informed sources told Northeast Live that delegations of the NSCN (IM) and NNPGs will be leaving for New Delhi soon for talks with the union government leaders.

Significantly, a crucial round of talks between the two key Naga stakeholders with the Central government leaders has already been held in New Delhi last week on these two issues – removing the bottlenecks for a solution to the Naga political issue and the immediate task of restoring peace in Manipur.

The Manipur government and several stakeholders in the state have, however, been demanding that there should be no division of Manipur while working out a permanent solution to the Naga issue.

The Meitei groups as well as Chief Minister N Biren Singh have been voicing opposition to the intensified Kuki demand for a Separate Administration.

The role of the Nagas, both in Manipur and adjoining Nagaland, have been highly appreciated and acknowledged by all quarters for their neutral position in the current Kuki-Meitei conflict that has devastated Manipur during the past nearly 70 days.

On Thursday, a 30-member Naga delegation, under the banner of the Nagaland Joint Action Forum, visited Imphal and proposed peace talks between the Kukis and the Meiteis at a neutral location in Kohima or Dimapur.

The delegation was welcomed by the Interfaith Forum for Peace and Harmony, Manipur.

In fact, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had told Northeast Live during a recent interview that he was in touch with Naga leaders in Manipur and have requested them to be in contact with the Kuki leadership in a bid to restore peace.

The Naga legislators in Manipur too have been making efforts to bring peace.

The upcoming Delhi meeting of the NSCN (IM) and the NNPG with central government officials and leaders have triggered fresh speculations of an imminent resolution of the decades-old Naga issue.

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