Appeal to people of Nagaland to stay calm :: NPCC

April 16 2020

Ugly truths continue to emerge with respect to governance and our society as nationwide lockdown gets extended. What we have been witnessing during this lockdown period is a state government that has lost its bearings and a society driven more by emotions rather than by reasoning.

The attempt by some civil society organizations to dictate the state govt in matters of administration and maintenance of law & order is ridiculous unless the govt has outsourced its duties and responsibilities to them.

Ever since 2003, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s policy of including CSOs and NGOs as part of decision making process has put some organizations on a high pedestal to the extent that they are unable to scale down and respect the rule of law. In a nutshell, Mr Rio should either rein in those elements or step down to protect the dignity of the chair he occupies.

The gag order issued by Chief Secretary to govt employees from airing their views is another regressive step to cover up miserable failures of the govt.

The act of highlighting inadequacies in PPEs, critical medical equipments, poor working conditions and receiving backlash from insensitive society (not all) out of ignorance does not amount to violating good order and discipline. At times like these, the govt should be quick enough to address concerns raised and not shoot the messenger.

We appeal to the people of Nagaland to stay calm and avoid getting into vigilante mode as this will spell disaster for entire population. The recent case of a reputed Hospital in Dimapur where it’s Doctors, Nurses and staffs are being ostracized by their landlords, neighbors and colony councils after one patient was tested positive is another unfortunate happening.

We condemn this irresponsible behavior being shown to health care workers by some ill informed sections of the society.

We also request our people to take care of stranded people from other states who are suffering in our midst. Our own children who are outside the state as students and workers are being taken care of in mainland cities by those people who have been showing exemplary sacrifice and service when we put out a request to them.

The failure of state govt in these times of crisis is an opportunity for all citizens to rethink on how and where things have gone wrong. It also presents an opportunity to rise above narrow thinking that dominates every tribal society and herald the dawn of a new era by jointly putting efforts to sustain our people in the face of threats from pandemic, hunger and job losses.

God bless Nagaland.

Issued by: Communication Dept,
NPCC - Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee