Polls near, Rahul Gandhi asks PM: Where is the Naga deal?

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Naga peace accord signed by the latter in 2015, saying the agreement was yet nowhere to be seen. Taking to Twitter, the Congress chief said: “August 2015, Mr Modi claims to create history by signing the NAGA accord. Feb 2018, Naga Accord is still nowhere to be found. Modiji is the first ever Indian PM whose words don’t mean anything #CantFindThe Accord.” Nagaland goes to the polls on February 27.

Two other states in the Northeast — Meghalaya and Tripura — will also go to the polls this month.

The Naga peace accord was signed in August 2015 by Prime Minister Modi and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) to end the insurgency in the state. The Congress Party had then too sought details on the contours of the agreement.

The Congress has already kickstarted its campaign in the Northeast. The party president was in Shillong on a two-day visit, where he met Congress workers and state leaders. The party is going all out to retain power in Meghalaya. Mr Gandhi also attended a musical night in Shillong where bands from the state were playing.

While uncertainty continues over the issue of Opposition unity to take on the BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha polls, the Congress is positioning itself as the main alternative. Congress spokes-man Randeep Surjewala said that Rahul Gandhi is the “only alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi” while he was speaking to reporters on Sunday, and emphasised that “unity of the Opposition” would bring forth a “wave of change” in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Mr Surjewala said there were two models before the country today — one represented by Mr Modi, and the other by the Congress president.

Talking about the Assembly elections to be held in eight states this year, the Congress spokesman said the party’s victory in the recent byelections in Rajasthan was “just a trailer”. He added: “We are confident of coming back to power in Karnataka, one of the most developed states, and to win by huge margins in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other poll-bound states.”

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had recently convened a meeting of all its constituents, which was to ensure that the alliance remains intact at the national level, he added. “As far as states are concerned, the constituents of the UPA have contested elections against each other... In the days to come, the contours of the poll alliance will be discussed. With the spectre of an early Lok Sabha poll looming large, the UPA wants to be battle-ready for any eventuality.”