Nagaland: NDPP Dismisses Allegations in Delhi High Court Petition as "Baseless"

KOHIMA: The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, NDPP, ridiculed the latest allegations contained in a pending petition filed in the Delhi High Court as "baseless" and "motivated." The party clarified that the case is not new; it has been ongoing since 2018 and was deliberated on by the ECI in 2019, that there was no basis to the charges.

The NDPP said in a statement the case pending was more or less a repetition of the dismissed one, which had sought to persuade the ECI to abrogate the election results. "It is nothing but repetition of baseless allegations already dismissed by ECI after due scrutiny," an NDPP spokesperson added.

Ever since its inception in 2017, the NDPP made tremendous electoral gains with two successive state elections followed by victory in Lok Sabha elections for the lone Nagaland seat. The party also emerged victorious in all the by-elections and urban local body elections that took place since 2018. This further established the party as a dominant power in the state's politics.

In so far as it goes, that performance makes it very important for the NDPP to assert that any question raised about its registration or legality calls for no response. Recognised in all its ramifications by the ECI, the party was granted state party status with the "globe" symbol way back in 2018. The party claims that recognition had come its way on account of electoral success and owing obedience to the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968.

The current petition, filed by various Gujarat Congress MLAs challenging their disqualification, kept getting delayed due to the large number of non-appearances from the representatives of the petitioners on the scheduled hearings. Officials of the NDPP opined that the frequent postponements reflect the lack of substance in the case and expressed confidence that it would be dismissed by the Delhi High Court, just as the ECI had previously done.

Reiterating its trust in the judiciary, the NDPP expressed hope that the court would deliver a verdict free of all biases and within established precedents. "We believe in the democratic process and feel that justice will prevail," said the party.

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