Former Nagaland Governor RN Ravi resigns as Centre's interlocutor for Naga peace talks

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New Delhi: Former Nagaland Governor RN Ravi resigned as the Centre’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks on Wednesday (September 22).

The Ministry of Home Affairs informed that it accepted his resignation with immediate effect.

“Shri RN Ravi's resignation as interlocutor for the Naga peace process, submitted by him today, has been accepted with immediate effect by Government of India,” a home ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI.

Ravi currently serves as the Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Ravi was leading the peace negotiations with the Nagaland insurgent group NSCN-IM since 2014. He continued his role as the interlocutor even after he was appointed the governor of Nagaland in July 2019.

However, the NSCN-IM has refused to hold talks with him since last year, accusing him of trying to sabotage the peace process. Ravi was then transferred as the governor of Tamil Nadu early this month.

The Central government has already engaged former special director of the Intelligence Bureau, A K Mishra, for holding peace parleys with the Naga groups. Mishra has resumed talks with the Naga rebel group.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio also met NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah in Dimapur on Tuesday.

Ravi had signed a framework agreement with Muivah on August 3, 2015, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a major step towards the final settlement.

The framework agreement came after over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years with the first breakthrough in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland.

However, there has been no progress in the peace talks as the NSCN-IM has sought a separate flag and constitution for Nagaland, which was rejected by the Central government.