Eastern Naga body 'temporarily' accepts Centre's offer of unique arrangement' for 'Frontier Nagaland Territory'

Guwahati: The Influential Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) on Tuesday said it accepted the Centre's offer of a "unique arrangement with executive, legislative and financial autonomy" for "Frontier Nagaland Territory," comprising six districts in eastern Nagaland. 

The ENPO has been leading the movement for a separate state comprising the six districts, Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longley, Noklak and Shamator. On Tuesday, the organisation, however, said it accepted the Centre's offer made by the Union Home Ministry in New Delhi during a tripartite meeting on December 13. 

“During the tripartite meeting, the ENPO delegation made its unwavering stand very clear that the demand of the people of eastern Nagaland is for a separate statehood ‘Frontier Nagaland’. However, the ENPO having considered the difficulties of Government of India at the present juncture had decided to temporarily accept the offer of FNT, a unique arrangement with executive, legislative and financial autonomy,” the ENPO said in a statement.

The Centre held meetings with the ENPO after voters in the six districts boycotted the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the civic body polls in support of their demand for a separate Eastern Nagaland state. 

The ENPO said the next tripartite meeting will be held in the second week of January to deliberate on some other unresolved issues given the "significant progress” made.

"With the ongoing negotiation on FNT at an advanced stage, the ENPO is optimistic that the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not fail in fulfilling the proposed offer of FNT in the interest of the people of Eastern Nagaland," said the ENPO. 

Nagaland has 60 Assembly seats and 20 of them are in eastern Nagaland.

The development has come as a good news for the people of eastern Nagaland ahead of the Christmas celebrations.