Nagaland has a six-month AFSA extension, it can still be repealed; Meghalaya CM
Conrad K Sangma told HT amid shouts of outrage in Nagaland, which is still mourning the deaths of civilians in a botched army operation and the accompanying rioting.
“Even though Nagaland has a six-month extension, it can still be repealed
Conrad K Sangma, the chief minister of Meghalaya, expressed hope on Thursday that the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa) would be repealed in the northeast after the Centre prolonged it for another six months in Nagaland.
In Manipur, the National People’s Party (NPP), which had four MLAs until recently (one of whom switched to the BJP this week), backs the BJP-led administration of N Biren Singh. Conrad’s party intends to run alone in the upcoming Manipur elections.
Conrad K Sangma, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya and the leader of the National People’s Party (NPP), indicated that in the next Manipur assembly election, the demand to repeal the controversial Armed Forces (Special) Power Act, or AFSPA, would be a top priority for his party.
The NPP is a major player in Manipur’s 60-member BJP-led coalition government, with two ministers, including the Deputy Chief Minister.
He added, taking a note on Afspa, that the law no longer applies to Meghalaya. For years, the regulation that applies after an area is designated as a “disturbed region” was in effect inside a 20-kilometer-wide zone of Meghalaya near the Assam border.
After 27 years, the Centre finally abolished Afspa from Meghalaya in 2018. It applies to Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (with the exception of seven Imphal assembly constituencies) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
“I am confident that when the study is completed and the Centre is in a position to make a judgement, it will be repealed,” the chief minister added.
“Once that proposal or that review committee or that panel looks into it, I’m sure it’ll come up independently,” he said, pointing out that the extension of the “disturbed regions” tag in Nagaland was just a standard operation.
