Kohima, August 11: The Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPGs) has issued a strong statement distancing itself from any political arrangement involving the NSCN-IM, while accusing the latter of pursuing hidden agendas that undermine the Naga people’s aspirations for an inclusive settlement.

In the press release dated August 10, the WC-NNPGs asserted that “at no point of time” had it, officially or otherwise, expressed interest in joining any agreement where NSCN-IM was a party. It clarified that the much-discussed “Common Draft” is a Government of India (GoI) initiative for an inclusive Naga solution, which the WC-NNPGs supports only if it does not alter the Agreed Position of November 17, 2017 — a document they say affirms the Nagas’ right to self-determination while respecting contemporary political realities.

While acknowledging the reconciliatory role played by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) in past agreements, the WC accused NSCN-IM of using such pacts merely to project legitimacy before New Delhi. It condemned the 2015 Framework Agreement (FA) as a secretive deal struck without consulting Naga tribes, civil society, or church leaders, describing “Nagalim” as a “utopian term” irrelevant to Naga history.

The Committee alleged that the NSCN-IM’s emphasis on securing a flag and constitution masks its “real motive” — gaining control over the Intangki Reserve Forest to create a township for Nagas from Manipur under Tangkhul leadership. It claimed that the GoI has rejected any transfer of Intangki to the NSCN-IM, affirming it belongs to the Naga people.

The WC-NNPGs accused NSCN-IM of being “not for solution” but for controlling strategic areas in Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam. It also charged that the group is trying to “sabotage” the Naga solution by refusing to work alongside NNPGs in the Common Draft process, fearing it would derail their “secret plans.”

Reaffirming its commitment to an “early, honourable, and acceptable” settlement, the WC said it has taken the contours of the Agreed Position directly to tribal bodies, village leaders, students, and church representatives across Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam.

Concluding, the Committee stated that while existing state and international boundaries in Naga ancestral lands are historical legacies, these areas deserve “tremendous political and administrative autonomy.” It warned New Delhi to heed “the voice of the Naga people” rather than “the noise of the few.”