Centre to hold ministerial-level talks on Naga peace issue: Nagaland CM Rio

Guwahati: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had agreed to have the Union Ministers of State for Home Affairs engage with the Naga political groups involved in negotiations.

Rio said in Nagaland that the decision had been communicated to the Naga negotiating groups and that the process was currently underway.

Rio recently met Shah in New Delhi.


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AK Mishra, Advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Northeast affairs, has so far held a series of talks with various Naga groups, including the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM). Former Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi was the interlocutor in the Naga peace talks before he took charge as Tamil Nadu Governor in September 2021.

The Centre and NSCN-IM are holding peace parleys. There is a stalemate between the government of India and NSCN-IM over the contentious issue of a separate flag and Constitution. NSCN-IM has been demanding a separate flag and Constitution, which the government of India has rejected.

The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the Nagaland government had urged in 2025 that the Centre elevate the Naga peace talks to the highest political level by appointing an interlocutor of political or ministerial rank with the confidence and mandate of the government.

The PAC, headed by Rio, had resolved that the peace talks be resumed at the political level to expedite the negotiation process.