Chief Minister Shri\u00a0T.R.Zeliang talked about his Heraka connection, corruption, salary, unemployment, PDS scam, and other issues\u00a0at the\u00a018th\u00a0Biennial Conference of All Nagaland\u00a0College Students Union (ANCSU) at Mokokchung on 8th\u00a0of November, 2017.
\nHere is the full text of his speech as released by media cell,\u00a0 CMO, Kohima.<\/p>\n
\u200bRespected Chairperson\u00a0Mr. Deon\u00a0Swu, Former President, ANCSU,\u00a0Mr.\u00a0Temjennungsang\u00a0Jami
\u200bI am deeply grateful to the Almighty God for giving me this wonderful opportunity of being in the midst of so many\u00a0outstanding\u00a0young people at\u00a0Mokokchung\u00a0today. Indeed, it has been my long cherished\u00a0desire to be with\u00a0the\u00a0youths, the future leaders of our society; to interact and share ideas with them\u00a0so that together we can work for the betterment of our society.<\/p>\n
\u200bHowever, before I proceed further, I wish to tell you some facts about my past. As you may be aware, much\u00a0mis-informations\u00a0have\u00a0bee
\u200bI was born in a remote village called Mbaupungwa in Peren district in the year 1952. At that point of time the village was 100% Heraka. Heraka as you may be aware is a ‘religion’ having fairly substantial followings amongst Zeliangrong villages in Nagaland,\u00a0NC Hills\u00a0of Assam and in parts of Manipur.<\/p>\n
In the year 1956, when I was barely 4 years old my parents decided to convert to Christianity for which they had to pay the price of being excommunicated from\u00a0our hearth and home\u00a0as no Christians were allowed\u00a0to reside in the village then.\u00a0It was under these circumstances that my whole family had to go and live in\u00a0Sailhem\u00a0village, a neighbouring Kuki village.\u00a0 Later in 1966-67, we moved to Nkialwa village. I am proud to say\u00a0that my\u00a0\u2018Rangkaulung\u2019\u00a0clan\u00a0is now 100% Christian. This feat, we achieved in the year 1994.\u00a0Today, my native Mbaupungwa is\u00a0also\u00a0a 100% Christian Village.<\/p>\n
\u200bWhy I feel it is necessary\u00a0to share this personal story with young people gathered here today is because of the propaganda that has been spread by some people\u00a0out\u00a0to gain undue political mileage.\u00a0There are rumours that I am from Manipur, that I am Heraka having secret alliance with the RSS etc. These are all figment of imaginations of my detractors planted to sully my image as a Naga and a Christian.\u00a0That in brief is the story about my past and my faith in Christ.\u00a0I am sure educated people like you will be able to discern truth from falsehood and not be misguided by fabricated\u00a0tales.\u00a0Now, that I have said so, I feel more comfortable to speak to you about other things and\u00a0will now\u00a0share a few thoughts\u00a0about\u00a0my vision for a better Nagaland.<\/p>\n
\u200bFirst of all, it is\u00a0about\u00a0corruption which is the most talked\u00a0of issue\u00a0in our state\u00a0today. Yes, despite efforts put in by successive\u00a0Government\u00a0over the years, we have not been able to tackle this\u00a0menace\u00a0effectively. While my Govt. shall continue to vigorously pursue our set goal of addressing this problem, we also need to understand that corruption is an all pervasive evil and not just confined to the Govt alone. Rather, it is a collective problem and the foremost step is for each one of us individuals\u00a0to\u00a0first\u00a0change ourselves and\u00a0be upright in what we do.<\/p>\n
Much has been debated about fuel adulteration and the Public Distribution System\u00a0(PDS)\u00a0Scams. These malpractices were prevalent from long before but no tangible action\u00a0could be\u00a0taken against the perpetrators. Somehow it was during my tenure as C.M. that these scams surfaced and there was much public hue and cry. To tackle the matter, the Govt. constituted a Special Investigation Team\u00a0(SIT)\u00a0and the accused persons were charge-sheeted\u00a0and the matter is now in the Judicial Magistrate’s Court. Further, we have issued stringent orders that no petrol pumps should deal in adulterated fuel. And that if any dealers were found selling adulterated fuel in contravention to this order, their dealership license will be cancelled and appropriate\u00a0action\u00a0will be\u00a0taken according to the law.\u00a0My Govt. is also fully committed to ensuring that the implementation of National Food Security Act 2013(NFSA) carried-out in letter and spirit. Any reports of short receipts of the district quotas shall be dealt with severely and the erring officials taken to task.<\/p>\n
Our economy is salary driven. We have the highest number of Govt. employees\u00a0vis-a-vis\u00a0the population. Our salary outgo is so huge that we are barely left with any funds for taking up even routine maintenance work leave alone\u00a0other\u00a0development activities. Let me give you a figure to elaborate my point. Our resource base isvery poor. We\u00a0on our own generate\u00a0just a little over\u00a0Rs.780\u00a0crore\u00a0annually. However Salary and Pension expenditures alone accounts for\u00a0Rs 5,501\u00a0Crore\u00a0due to our inability to\u00a0mobilise\u00a0adequate revenue\u00a0we are solely dependent on the central government.<\/p>\n
\u200bWithout\u00a0adequate resources, it is simply impossible to develop the infrastructure of the State. Particularly the roads of Nagaland which is much talked about at present. We are literally left with nothing but to seek help from\u00a0the G.O.I. However I must tell you that the face of the roads of Nagaland will soon change\u00a0as the Government of India, have approved\u00a0many of our proposals\u00a0in principle for\u00a0sanction\u00a0while\u00a0some important roads\u00a0have\u00a0already\u00a0been accorded sanction,\u00a0which combined together, amounts\u00a0to over\u00a0Rs\u00a030,000\u00a0crorefor road\u00a0sector alone.<\/p>\n
My\u00a0Government is\u00a0also\u00a0seriously focusing\u00a0on\u00a0the skills development among the youths. Towards this endeavour, the state government\u00a0have\u00a0declared\u00a02016-
One of the major visions of the\u00a0State Government is\u00a0to make\u00a0Nagaland a hub of connectivity with\u00a0the\u00a0South East Asian countries.\u00a0 I am sure that\u00a0this initiative will open\u00a0up\u00a0new opportunities\u00a0for our youths to actively participate in the growth and progress of the state. We must be prepared to make use of this new\u00a0openingswhen it comes to our door steps.<\/p>\n
Reported influx of illegal\u00a0immigrants\u00a0has become an issue of\u00a0grave\u00a0concern\u00a0to\u00a0the state. While the Government\u00a0is\u00a0prepared to putting in\u00a0every effort to contain the menace of illegal immigrants,\u00a0our\u00a0people should also play their role. For instance, our youths must be able to take over the skilled\u00a0jobs like construction\u00a0works,\u00a0running of\u00a0business establishments, vehicle repairing, and\u00a0such other kind of jobs. Unless we are able to play\u00a0our respective roles,\u00a0it will be very difficult for the state government\u00a0alone to contain\u00a0illegal immigrants. I\u00a0therefore\u00a0appeal to all the young people gathered\u00a0here today to seriously introspect and contribute towards solving this\u00a0common\u00a0problem.<\/p>\n
Growing unemployment\u00a0amongst the young educated people is an issue of great concern.\u00a0At the same time,\u00a0It\u00a0is\u00a0also\u00a0not possible for\u00a0the state Government to provide white collared\u00a0jobs\u00a0to all the educated youths. They must come out of the conventional way of thinking that only a white collaredjob is a job and other jobs are below their dignity. Young people must be willing to explore new and innovative avenues and venture into\u00a0unexplored\u00a0areas if we are to overcome unemployment problem in the state.<\/p>\n
I would also like to address you on the\u00a07\u00a0decades old Naga Political issue. If you all think that it is a problem concerning only the NNPGs, the politicians or for that matter the elders of the society and that they alone are to bring about solution than I’m afraid you are wrong.\u00a0 It is my belief and ardent desire to find a solution and for that the collective efforts of all the\u00a0Nagas\u00a0and in particular the Youths and Students like you all is a must in helping to solve and find a solution to the protracted Naga Political problem.\u00a0I can proudly say that this is Golden opportunity for the\u00a0Nagas\u00a0and G.O.I to resolve the issue amicably – understanding each other’s difficulties.<\/p>\n
Let me tell you why I say that solution is important for\u00a0 you my young friends.\u00a0 In the prevailing situation the scope of economic growth in the State is badly retarded. There is hue and cry amongst young Naga entrepreneurs not able to take off small business\u00a0enterprises due to heavy\u00a0and intimidation\u00a0taxation. Furthermore, the opportunity for our unemployed youths to be employed in large companies in the State is deprived as the Big Companies are reluctant to invest in our State due to heavy taxation problems.\u00a0The answer to these problems, therefore, lies in finding a honourable, acceptable and inclusive solution to the vexed Naga political problem for which, we all must strive.<\/p>\n
The theme of your conference\u00a0\u201cSynergizing Young Mind\u201d\u00a0is\u00a0indeed\u00a0inspiring and\u00a0most\u00a0aptly chosen at a time when our youths are struggling hard to find proper directions. It is of paramount importance for the young people to vigorously seek wisdom. In today\u2019s world, where artificial intelligence and synthetic knowledge plays a dominant role in moulding our mindset,\u00a0it has become very difficult for all of us, especially young people, to put\u00a0things\u00a0into right perspective without the intervention of divine wisdom. Therefore, invocation of\u00a0divine\u00a0wisdom among the people should be\u00a0lost sight of.<\/p>\n
In order\u00a0to interact and gather views and suggestions\u00a0for the\u00a0upliftment\u00a0of our state, I am actively involved in social media like Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram. I urge you all to join me in this initiative and\u00a0be\u00a0in touch with me\u00a0by\u00a0offering\u00a0positive and innovative views and ideas. I\u00a0assure you\u00a0here\u00a0that I will\u00a0reciprocate to all your valuable suggestions and comments.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, friends let us all commit ourselves to work together for the betterment of our future. I once again thank you all for giving me this privilege to be with you all and wish your conference a grand success. Thank you all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chief Minister Shri\u00a0T.R.Zeliang talked about his Heraka connection, corruption, salary, unemployment, PDS scam, and other issues\u00a0at the\u00a018th\u00a0Biennial Conference of All Nagaland\u00a0College Students Union (ANCSU) at Mokokchung on 8th\u00a0of November, 2017.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/38"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doontimes.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}