AIZAWL, Jan 24 ? Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who has been involved in the Naga peace deal, Friday claimed he salvaged the Centre- NSCN(IM) talks in New Delhi Thursday by intervening at the right time, reports PTI.
Addressing party workers who received him in front of the office of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) party, Zoramthanga said the NSCN (IM) leaders were angered by the statement of Manipur Chief Minister Ibobi Singh to the media that he was assured by the Prime Minister that Manipur would not be divided. ?The NSCN leaders, who were all set to leave Delhi for Amsterdam, said they would not like to come back to India to resume the talks if the statements of the Manipur Chief Minister were true,? he said.
Zoramthanga said the NSCN (I-M) leadership ?finally left Delhi with a consent to continue the talks in future after I held talks with the Muivah and Issac Chishi Swu.? ?I also told the Manipur Chief Minister earlier that I did not want to make any comment on the greater Nagaland issue as it would anger either of the parties, but I told him that the issues of sovereignty for the Nagas or creation of greater Nagaland would be taken up on the negotiating table.?
On his role as a mediator between the Centre and the NSCN(I-M), Zoramthanga, a former rebel leader himself, said that efforts should be made to ensure peace prevailing in Mizoram should spread to the entire eastern region. ?We alone should not enjoy peace but should be a blessing to other people,? he said, claiming he has become ?indispensable? to the Centre and the NSCN(I-M) to create mutual trust between the two sides.
Zoramthanga said the Centre has assured him that it would allocate Rs 70 crore to meet the expenses for shifting Assam Rifles from the heart of Aizawl city, Rs 12 crore for construction of a road to enable the people to use bamboo resources in the State. The technical committee on environmental clearances for 90 MW Bairabi Hydel project also recommended that environmental clearance be given for the project, he said.