Nagaland Guv meets Prez; briefs him about situation in state

Chief Minister T R Zeliang is also camping in the national capital to meet the central leadership to brief them about the situation in Nagaland.

New Delhi, Feb 17: Nagaland Governor P B Acharya on Thursday met President Pranab Mukherjee and apprised him about the situation in the state where normal life has been crippled for a fortnight due to protests against local bodies polls.

During the 20-minute meeting, Acharya also briefed the President about the steps taken to bring back normalcy, official sources said. Chief Minister T R Zeliang is also camping in the national capital to meet the central leadership to brief them about the situation in Nagaland. However, Zeliang has not been able to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh yet as both of them were busy in electioneering in Uttar Pradesh, the sources said.

The chief minister may get the appointments in a day or two, they added. Zeliang arrived in Delhi yesterday in an apparent bid to save his chair after 42 of 49 MLAs of his party, the Naga People's Front (NPF), switched support to Shurhozelie Liezietsu as the next chief minister.

Unrest in Nagaland continues as indefinite bandh called by several organisations demanding Zeliang's resignation continues. A statement issued by the Chief Minister's office yesterday said Zeliang and Acharya, who arrived in Delhi in the backdrop of certain political developments, "are more alarmed with the likelihood of imposition of President's Rule by the Centre, which will not solve the social unrest that the State is going through right now".

Normalcy has been affected across the hill state due to a daily 9-to-5 bandh called for an indefinite period by the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), both of which have demanded resignation of Zeliang. The two bodies have held Zeliang responsible for the recent incidents of violence and death of two youth in protests against the government's attempt to hold urban local bodies' elections with 33 per cent reservation for women.

PTI