Deputy Chief Minister and Minister-in-charge of Home, Y. Patton, has stated that the State government will not force anyone to sing Vande Mataram, amidst controversy over the Centre’s directive on singing the national song in schools and official programmes.
Patton made this statement while addressing the media at Dimapur Airport, where he emphasized that participation should be a matter of individual choice. He said, ‘Nobody is forced to sing, and nobody will be asked to sing, and nobody can stop anyone from singing.’ This stance comes after various Naga civil society organisations, including the Naga Students’ Federation and Nagaland Baptist Church Council, opposed the Centre’s directive.
The issue may be discussed during the forthcoming Ninth session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, scheduled to begin on September 1. When asked whether the State government would examine the implications of compulsory observance of the Centre’s directive in the context of Article 371(A) of the Constitution, Patton stated that Article 371(A) would not be affected by the issue.
In other news, Patton addressed the ongoing eviction drive near Merapani border, where 59 houses were reportedly served eviction notices by the Assam government. He said Border Magistrates from both Assam and Nagaland are conducting an investigation and verification to establish the status of the residents. Patton cautioned against identifying the affected area specifically as a Lotha area, stating that the residents could either be illegal immigrants or Nagas.
The State government will await the verification report before drawing any conclusion on the eviction drive. Patton referred questions on human-elephant conflict to the Forest minister.
