Zero voter turnout in 6 Nagaland districts amid shutdown call; CM says no problem with demand
Kohima, Apr 19: Polling personnel in six eastern districts of Nagaland waited for nine hours in booths, but not one of the four lakh voters of the region turned up following a shutdown call given by an organisation to press for its demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ (FNT).
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday affirmed that the state government does not have any problem with the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation’s (ENPO) demand for FNT as it has already recommended autonomous powers for the region.
The ENPO is the apex body of the seven tribal organisations of the eastern region.
Officials said there is no movement of people or vehicles on major streets in eastern Nagaland except those of the district administrations and other emergency services.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland Awa Loring said polling personnel were present between 7 am and 4 pm in the 738 polling stations in the region which comprises 20 assembly constituencies.
Sources in the CEO’s office said none came up to cast votes in those nine hours. Those 20 MLAs also did not exercise their franchise.
Of the 13.25 lakh voters in Nagaland, the six districts in Eastern Nagaland have 4,00,632 voters.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at his village in Touphema, some 41 km on the outskirts of the state capital, the chief minister said he accepted the draft working paper for FNT which was handed over to him in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Everything looks okay except the power-sharing the elected legislators of the region and members of the proposed FNT,” he said.
The ENPO has been demanding a separate state comprising six districts alleging that successive governments did not bring about socio-economic development in the region.
The chief minister, however, said the state government has already recommended an autonomous body so that the region gets sufficient economic packages to come at par with the rest of the state.
“When an autonomous body is created, there has to be a proper system with the elected members. The state government has nothing to do with this. The MLAs and ENPO should sit across the table to work out a formula. We can talk only after that,” Rio said.
Asked if any action would be initiated against the 20 legislators of eastern Nagaland for not casting votes, he said, “We don’t want confrontation. Let us see what will happen.”
Hours before the Lok Sabha elections are due to begin in Nagaland, the ENPO imposed an indefinite total shutdown in the eastern part of the state from 6 pm on Thursday.
The organisation also cautioned that if any person goes to vote and any law and order situation arises, it will be the responsibility of the voter concerned.
Nagaland CEO Vayasan R, while viewing the shutdown as an attempt to exert undue influence during elections, issued a show cause notice to the ENPO on Thursday night.
He said under sub-section (1) of Section 171C of the Indian Penal Code, "Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at an election."
ENPO president Tsapikiu Sangtam on Friday, however, claimed that section is not applicable in this context.
“The main goal of the public notice (for shutdown) was to reduce the possibility of disturbances in the Eastern Nagaland region, which is under our jurisdiction, and the risk linked with gatherings of anti-social elements,” he said.
Stating that eastern Nagaland is presently under a “public emergency”, he claimed that the shutdown was a voluntary initiative taken by the people of the region.
Sangtam said that the ENPO informed the EC on April 1 about the intentions of the Eastern Nagaland people to abstain from participating in the Lok Sabha elections.
The ENPO does not possess any mechanism to enforce its resolutions or orders but it operates solely on the basis of voluntary participation and consensus among the Eastern Nagaland people, he said.
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'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
