Secret Naga autonomy talks near resolution

ADDRESSING HIS first rally in Manipur of this election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the state had little to fear from the “Naga Accord”. Modi’s assurance came amidst calls to reveal details of the August 3, 2015, agreement, which have grown louder ahead of the March polls.

“There is nothing in the Naga Accord that amounts to betraying the interests of Manipur. There is not a word in the Naga Accord that goes against the interests of Manipur,” Modi said at the rally, the BJP’S biggest so far, which drew a sizeable crowd despite a bandh call given by six insurgent outfits.

Amid confusion over the details of that pact, the Union government has so far refrained AT SECRET meetings held every week, R N Ravi, the Indian government’s official interlocutor on Nagaland, and insurgent leader Thuingaleng Muivah have been hammering out details of a political autonomy deal for Naga communities living inside and outside the state, a top government official familiar with the talks told The Sunday Express.

Held at hotels, guest houses and conventional venues, the meetings have involved 16-18member delegations of the Muviah-led National Socialist Council of Nagalim’s Isakmuviah (NSCN-IM) faction, the primary insurgent group in the state, while New Delhi has been represented by Ravi alone.

“The idea of not having a delegation from the Government of India side,” the official said, “is to be able to tell the Nagas, look, here is one person who enjoys the confidence of the political executive, and will take what you propose straight to the top to get a yes or no answer.”

In order to ensure that a consensus develops around any future deal, the official said, Manipur’s government has been

PTI Modi with senior BJP leaders at the Imphal rally.