Kohima: The Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) has accused the Nagaland government of attempting to "dilute the core provisions" of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) on Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA), alleging that the state has taken a 'U-turn' on commitments made during the tripartite negotiation process.
The ENPO, in a statement issued on Saturday, expressed serious concern over what it described as attempts to alter key provisions of the February 5, 2026 MoA, which provides for the creation of the FNTA as a unique self-governing territorial authority with legislative, executive and financial autonomy within Nagaland.
The organisation said these provisions form the very foundation of the agreement and warned that any modification after the signing would amount to dismantling the essence of the MoA.
It urged the state government to table and pass the FNTA Bill in the Nagaland Assembly without diluting any provision of the signed MoA, maintaining that the arrangement was intended to address the longstanding developmental and governance concerns of the people of eastern Nagaland.
The ENPO alleged that the state government was now distancing itself from positions it had earlier endorsed during consultations on the proposed arrangement. It claimed that in its comments on the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2023, the state had agreed in principle to grant legislative, executive and financial autonomy to the proposed authority.
The organisation urged the state government to honour the agreement in both letter and spirit and facilitate its smooth implementation for the peace, development and welfare of eastern Nagaland.
Meanwhile, the ENPO convened its central executive council (CEC) meeting at Tuensang on June 3 to deliberate on the matter.
In a separate statement, the organisation informed all CEC members to attend the meeting as per the allotted strength of their respective tribes, frontal organisations and sub-units.
Rajya Sabha MP Phangnon Konyak has been invited to the meeting, while all 20 members of the Eastern Nagaland Legislators' Union (ENLU) have been requested to attend without fail. Former parliamentarians from eastern Nagaland have also been invited as special guests.
Prior to the CEC meeting, a consultative meeting will be held on June 2 at noon with political party leaders and workers from both national and regional parties from eastern Nagaland, along with presidents and secretaries of all six district units.
The ENPO has requested all political parties concerned to depute three-member delegations, while tribal councils have been asked to send delegations comprising their president, vice-president and general secretary.
The Nagaland government was yet to issue any clarification on the matter.
