Bhupen Goswami 

 Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said the government will find a solution to the demands of eastern Nagaland after the assembly elections and appealed to the voters to vote for the BJP and the NDPP. He was speaking during a public meeting in Tuensang district of Nagaland on February 21. “We will come out with a solution for eastern Nagaland after the elections,” Shah said.

The ENPO has been demanding a separate state, arguing that eastern Nagaland lags behind the rest of the state in development indicators due to administrative and political neglect. Shah further clarified that some people are creating confusion in this election and claiming that the BJP is supporting candidates of other parties. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said during a public meeting that talks are going on for the Naga peace accord.He said that the work started by Prime Minister Modi will bear fruit soon.

The Home Minister also said that he is hoping that the AFSPA law can be removed from the entire Northeast India soon. There has been a long-standing demand in the north-eastern states to remove the AFSPA act and it is a major political issue. Addressing a public meeting in Tuensang area of Nagaland on Tuesday, Amit Shah said that there are some development issues in eastern Nagaland, which will be resolved after the upcoming assembly elections. He said talks on the Naga peace accord were underway and he hoped that the initiative initiated by Prime Minister Modi could bring peace to the North East. Talking about the issue of insurgency in the North East, Amit Shah said that the incidents of violence have come down by 70 percent under the BJP rule.

The Home Minister said that the number of deaths of security forces in the North Eastern states has come down by 60 per cent. At the same time, cases of deaths of ordinary citizens have come down by 83 percent. Amit Shah said that the AFSPA law has been removed from large parts of Nagaland by the BJP government. He expressed hope that in the next three to four years, the AFSPA act will be withdrawn from the entire north India. Elections to the Nagaland Assembly are scheduled to be held on February 27. The results will be declared on March 2. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a military law. Under this law, security forces and army get many special rights. These include the right to arrest a suspect without a warrant and use force till the death of the accused if he breaks the law even after warning. This law is implemented in disturbed and militancy-affected areas.

This law has been in force in the northeastern states for the last several years. The demand to remove it is old. Now with the latest statement of Amit Shah, this wish of the people of the Northeast can be fulfilled soon. During his visit, Shah praised the way the Naga society respects women and attributed it to the appointment of women Rajya Sabha MPs from Nagaland by the BJP. He also said that since becoming the Home Minister, he has closely observed the Naga culture and tradition and the sacrifices of the Naga people for the country can never be forgotten.