The National Socialist Council of Nagalim or the Isak-Muivah faction of the NSCN has blamed New Delhi for increasing the burden of taxes on the people in Nagaland through several extremist factions.
The extremist group made this accusation a day after the Nagaland government ordered all “police check gates”, except those at the inter-State boundaries, to shut down to “curb illegal collection of money from the vehicles on roads”.
In a statement issued on Friday, the publicity ‘ministry’ of the NSCN (I-M) said taxations “can see the end” once the Naga solution materialises.
“We understand the pressing situation where people are overburdened with multiple factions and taxations... Ironically, these factions are not created by Nagas themselves,” the outfit said.
The NSCN (I-M) said the government of India created these factions to “burden the Naga public with the sinister design to pull down the Naga nationalism”.
The factions referred to are at least seven constituents of the rival Naga National Political Groups that signed the Agreed Position with the Centre in 2017. This agreement, not insistent on a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas, is seen as counter to the Framework Agreement signed with the NSCN (I-M) in 2015.
“However, the Naga settlement must be permanent and honourable as the Nagas cannot afford to make another mistake in accepting a settlement which does not guarantee secured future of the Naga people as well as complete eradication of taxes in the name of Naga political struggle,” the outfit said.
The Naga political issue has been hanging fire since 1997 when the NSCN (I-M) had declared a ceasefire to end two decades of extremism. The outfit has invariably defended the “taxes” it has been collecting from villagers, traders and government employees for its “government”.
But the truce led to factionalism, mostly within the rival Khaplang faction of the NSCN. The “government” of each faction began imposing its own taxes that triggered a people’s movement in Nagaland in October 2013. It asked all the extremist groups to come together for “one government, one tax”.
