Nagaland CM to lead all-party delegation to Amit Shah over Naga political issue, FMR

Kohima, Apr 7: An all-party delegation led by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio would soon meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the decades-old Naga political issue and concerns about the border fencing and Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the India-Myanmar border, a minister said on Sunday.

A senior Nagaland minister said in the last Assembly session (March 3 to 8) that the Chief Minister had suggested that an all-party delegation would meet the Union Home Minister to apprise him about the contentious Naga political issues, which always dominate politics in the state.

"The chief minister has already sought a suitable time from Home Minister regarding the all-party delegation meeting with him in New Delhi," the minister said, refusing to be named.

He said besides the Naga political issue, FMR and border fencing along the India-Myanmar border are the other vital issues to be discussed with the Union Home Minister.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last year announced that the FMR, which allows people residing along the India-Myanmar border to travel 16 km into each other's territory without a visa, would be scrapped soon.

Instead, the MHA decided to replace the FMR to adopt a new scheme to issue a pass to the border residents of both India and Myanmar living within 10 km on either side of the frontier to regulate cross-border movements.

The Nagaland Assembly on March 7 unanimously decided that an all-party delegation would meet the Union Home Minister to explain to him the "sentiment and resentment of the Naga people" against the MHA's decision to cancel the FMR between India and Myanmar.

Participating in the discussion on the issue, the Chief Minister had told the house that the border movement restriction would affect the long-standing historical, ethnic, social, cultural, traditional and economic ties of Nagas living on both sides of the India-Myanmar border.

The delegation would apprise the home minister about the concerns and unanimity of the house, which adopted unanimous resolutions passed on March 1, 2024, and the state cabinet decisions of February 8, 2024, and January 6, 2025.

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IANS