Kohima : The Nagaland government remains hopeful and confident of achieving a Naga political solution during the third term of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, according to state minister Temjen Imna Along.

“In this new government of the NDA led by PM Modi, the state government would love to see the mitigation of the Naga political issue positively,” said Along, who also serves as the government spokesperson and Minister for Tourism and Higher Education .

He emphasized the need for the Nagas to be assertive in building confidence between the state and Central governments. This cooperation is essential for coming together with the Naga political groups currently in dialogue with the Centre to find a resolution to the decades-old issue.

“To be able to solve that, we all have to come together and that should be done first because it cannot be resolved without sitting down and talking,” he said.

The Nagaland government has constituted a ‘Political Affairs Committee’ (PAC) comprising ministers and legislature party leaders from all political parties in the state Assembly to seek an inclusive solution to the Naga political issue.

“The state government is committed to see that our people have lasting peace for development and progress,” he added.

The Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) entered into a ceasefire agreement in 1997 and began dialogues to resolve the Naga issue. Both sides signed the Framework Agreement in 2015. The Central government also initiated separate discussions with the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (WC NNPGs) in 2017, culminating in the Agreed Position the same year.

However, a final solution remains elusive as the Centre has consistently refused the NSCN-IM’s demands for a separate flag and constitution for the Naga people, as well as the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas under one umbrella.

When asked about reported differences within the Peoples’ Democratic Alliance (PDA) — a pre-poll partnership between the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP following the Lok Sabha election debacle — Along dismissed the concerns. “The PDA is intact,” he stated.

“It is just the presumption and assumption of the many critics but in politics, many things happen. The core value of the PDA is always strong and will continue to give stability and good governance as far as possible to the people of Nagaland,” he affirmed.

“In every election, one or the other issue crops up, but the PDA alliance under the leadership of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and the Deputy Chief Ministers Y Patton of BJP and T R Zeliang of NDPP have an agenda, and the agenda is Nagaland,” he concluded.