NEW DELHI, Dec 6 ?The NSCN (I-M) is awaiting a response from the Government of India to the draft proposal for talks it has submitted, even as the senior leaders of the outfit are likely to meet the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister here tomorrow.
Chairman and general secretary of NSCN (I-M), Isak Chisi Swu and Th Muivah respectively, who arrived here late last evening, are likely to formally begin their meeting with the UPA Government from tomorrow when they call on the Prime Minister and other senior ministers.
But their first day in Delhi was not without controversy, as a scheduled meeting with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was postponed because of the Minister?s pre-occupation with Parliament Business. The NSCN (I-M), however, gave a different spin to it by saying that the leaders would begin their tour with a meeting with the Prime Minister.
?Their first meeting will be with the Prime Minister and only after that would they meet the Union Home Ministers and other Central Ministers,? a senior NSCN (I-M) leader told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, the leader confirmed that they have submitted a draft proposal for talks with the Government of India, which among other issues also refers to the demand for unification of all Naga inhabitated areas.
?We are waiting for their response and as and when it comes we will sit for talks,? the leader said. The dialogue itself is not likely to be held this week, as after the initial rounds of meetings, the NSCN (I-M) leaders are expected to fly down to Dimapur on December 12 to be home for Christmas. The formal dialogue was expected to be held later in January, when the NSCN(I-M) leaders return from Nagaland after holding consultations with various Naga organisations.
Talking to this Correspondent, Grinder Muivah said that both the leaders were expected to stay in Nagaland for about three to four weeks before coming for the formal round of talks. The NSCN (I-M) leaders spent the day today by meeting representatives of various Naga organisations
including the Naga Hoho, the Naga People?s Movement for Human Rights and the Naga Mothers? Association, who had come to receive them from Nagaland.
The NSCN (I-M) leaders are being hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Intelligence Bureau (IB) safe houses. The Naga outfit has brought in their bodyguards and cooks for the visiting leaders from Nagaland. The delegations from the State, meanwhile, are staying put in Nagaland House.
Meanwhile, braving the cold December night, Nagas in hundreds last night welcomed Swu and Muivah, singing carols when they landed here at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.
Girls and boys dressed in traditional Naga outfits belonging to the Naga Hoho, the Naga People?s Movement for Human Rights and the Naga Mothers? Association, joined the chief interlocutor, K Padmanabhaiah in welcoming the leaders.
Last night addressing the gathering, Muivah said that any solution to the Naga issue must be based on the uniqueness of the Naga problem and the history of its people. ?We are seeking a peaceful solution to the long-standing Naga issue and our visit is aimed at negotiating with the Government of India for a permanent and honourable settlement,? he said. The Naga leaders also indulged in diplomacy by hailing the Prime Minister, the chairperson of the UPA, Sonia Gandhi.
Meanwhile, Naga International Support Centre (NISC) called upon all parties to pursue peace for India and Nagaland, to bring about a solution honourable to both. ?Let not an interpretation of history, which was determined by Government of India itself as unique, interfere in thinking out an honourable solution,? it said.