Embattled Nagaland chief minister appeals for reconciliation

Kohima: Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu on Sunday appealed to his party NPF's dissident MLAs, led by former CM T R Zeliang, to settle differences at the party forum.

Liezietsu made the appeal on the eve of the slated hearing by the Kohima bench of the Guwahati High Court of his plea against the Nagaland governor's directive to him to seek a confidence vote.

?It is unfortunate that the issue which could be resolved in the party, as it is purely an internal problem of the Nagaland People's Front (NPF), but it has been dragged to the governor's and speaker's office, government spokesperson and minister Yitachu said in a statement this evening.

He asserted that Liezietsu was forced to take over as chief minister during public agitation against the then chief minister T R Zeliang against 33 per cent reservation for women in the election for the urban local bodies.

Yitachu said that being a member of the NPF, Zeliang cannot move a no-confidence motion simply because he belongs to the party which Liezietsu heads.

Therefore, constitutionally and legally Liezietsu still enjoys absolute majority in the House as NPF alone commands 47 members in the House of 60, he argued.

Lok Sabha member and former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and 44 MLAs, all supporters of former chief minister T R Zeliang, had yesterday met Governor P B Acharya who promised to uphold the Constitution.

On the other hand, Liezietsu, along with his council of ministers, had also met the Governor last evening and apprised him about the political situation.

Earlier, the governor's directive to the chief minister to hold a trust vote had been rejected by the state cabinet.