Two killed, several injured as Nagaland tribal bodies call for bandh over local body polls
Mangalore Today News Network
Feb 01, 2017: Two people were killed and nearly a dozen injured in Nagaland on Tuesday night, when police fired at agitators to quell violent protests in the wake of the state government’s decision to hold the urban local body (ULB) polls on February 1.
Even as tribal bodies called for a bandh to prevent polling from being conducted between 7 am and 3.30 pm, an indefinite curfew was clamped on Dimapur – the state’s commercial hub – and several places across Nagaland. Hundreds of people armed with spears and machetes descended on the streets in protest, and many even tried to enter the residence of chief minister TR Zeliang.
“The situation is tense, and indefinite curfew has been imposed in Dimapur and Chumukedima. While two people were killed, two others sustained injuries in police firing on Tuesday night,” Nagaland Police spokesperson Shouka Kakheto told HT.
Though there were reports of seven others sustaining injuries in police firing at Longleng, the authorities refused to issue a confirmation. Several policemen were also injured in the violence that ensued.
The impasse seemed to have been resolved on Monday, when the state government signed a deal with the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) – an umbrella organisation of tribal bodies opposed to holding ULB polls with 33% reservation for women – to postpone the election by two months. However, a Gauhati high court order passed the next day prompted the government to announce polls to 12 of the state’s 32 municipal bodies on February 1.
ULB polls have not been held in Nagaland for over 10 years owing to opposition from traditional tribal bodies to reservation for women in the local administration.
As the news of this development spread, the tribal bodies – who had called off the ‘bandh’ in the light of Monday’s deal – decided to go ahead with its initial plan to disrupt the polls. The JCC’s threat of excommunication had ensured that no candidate filed nomination papers in 10 municipalities, and three failed to witness an electoral contest.
Polls to seven ULBs – including Dimapur – have been postponed by two months to prevent law-and-order problems. “Protesters are still out on the streets, and there is still a threat to public property. We are keeping a close watch on the situation,” said Kakheto on Wednesday morning.
Nagaland’s tribal bodies are opposed to reservation against women because they believe it will amount to infringing on customary laws, and violate Article 371A of the constitution – which grants special status to the northeastern state.
Nagaland has never elected a women legislator to the assembly since it gained statehood in 1963. The lone woman MP from the state was the late Rano M Shaiza, who was elected in 1977.