Deve Gowda calls for peaceful resolution of Naga problem

JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for peaceful resolution of the Naga Problem. Referring to the negotiations between the Centre and NSCN (IM), Gowda said it was apparent that "mistrust" had crept in.

Bengaluru (Karnataka): Former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader HD Devegowda has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking the Centre to resolve the Naga problem peacefully.

Speaking to reporters at the JD(S) office in Bengaluru, Deve Gowda said, "I did not raise any question regarding the Prime Minister's decision. According to media reports, the Union government's negotiations with NSCN (IM) to resolve the Naga problem have run into rough weather. Hence, it should be corrected by the PM with peaceful talks," he said, adding that he has written a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard.

In a statement, Deve Gowda expressed concerns over the Naga problem, and hoped distrust is put aside and a peace accord is reached at the earliest.

"From recent statements made by those involved in the negotiations it is apparent that distrust has crept in," Gowda said in the statement.

He said the ceasefire agreement in 1997, which followed his meeting as Prime Minister with Naga leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah in Zurich, in February that year, was a result of constructive diplomacy.

Read:Hectic parleys on to break Naga talks logjam as 80s-like situation looms in NE India

"We should ensure that the progress made in the last 23 years by successive governments is not forsaken now. There is the Constitution and also the 2015 framework agreement, which should help its move towards a solution," he added.

The NSCN (IM) had attacked the Nagaland Governor and interlocutor for Naga peace talks R N Ravi on Sunday, accusing him of converting a political issue into a law and order problem and adopting a "stratagem" that resulted in the killing and arrest of its members.

Read:Fresh trouble over Indo-Naga peace talks!

In a statement, the NSCN (IM), which has been engaged in peace negotiations with the Centre for the last 23 years, also alleged that Ravi was trying to divide the Naga people and "misled" the central government and a parliamentary standing committee on the framework agreement signed on August 3, 2015.

Stating that he sincerely hopes that distrust is put aside, talks continue, and a peace accord is reached at the earliest, Gowda said, "the people of the Northeast deserve to live in harmony and witness economic progress."

(With inputs from PTI)