Amit Shah to visit poll-bound Nagaland, address rally in Mon

PTI, Feb 20, 2023, 11:44 AM IST

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will reach poll-bound Nagaland on Monday on a two-day visit.

Shah will address a rally in Mon around 3.30 pm, BJP candidate of the Mon Town seat Cheong Konyak told PTI.

”We are expecting a crowd of more than 10,000,” he said.

Fourteen civilians, including six daily wagers working at a coal mine, were shot dead in a series of firings by security forces in Mon district in December 2021 in a botched anti-militancy operation, triggering a nationwide outrage.

Konyak said Shah will meet leaders of civil society organisations on Tuesday, though he did not specify which groups he will be meeting.

Another BJP functionary said leaders of organisations demanding ‘Frontier Nagaland’ state are scheduled to meet Shah during his two-day visit.

”We expect discussions on their demand for a separate state. But we don’t know any further details yet,” he added.

The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), which has been demanding a separate state of Frontier Nagaland comprising the six districts of Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Shamatore and Noklak, had initially called for a boycott of the polls as their demand was not met.

They later withdrew the call following an appeal by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

In a statement, the ENPO also urged all citizens to cooperate with the government for the elections, and not create any law and order problems.

Shah had lauded the decision by ENPO, saying it was an expression of trust in the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

The ENPO area has 20 seats in the 60-member Nagaland assembly.

Nagaland will go to polls on February 27, while the votes will be counted on March 2.