PM Narendra Modi’s initiative to take the Naga peace talks to fruition should pave the way for the total exit of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Nagaland within the next three to four years, Union home minister Amit Shah said Tuesday during his second poll rally in Tuensang.
“I want to remind you all of Nagaland before 2014. Bloodshed, gunfights, blasts, and insurgency traumatised the state. Modi ji then started the ongoing peace process, putting Nagaland on the path to lasting peace and development with the preservation of Naga culture, language and traditions,” he said in Tuensang, one of the six eastern districts that had briefly raised the bogey of a poll boycott until their demand for a separate “Frontier Nagaland” was fulfilled.
In April 2022, Shah announced the withdrawal of AFSPA from several districts across Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. He said the move is the “result of the improved security situation and fast-tracked development due to the consistent efforts and several agreements to end insurgency and bring lasting peace in Northeast” by the Government.
These six districts comprise 20 of the 60 assembly constituencies going to polls on February 27.
- Aegncies