DIMAPUR, Feb 20 - Ending all speculations and putting at rest all the prevailing unrest, Naga People�s Front (NPF) president and Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) chairman Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu was today unanimously elected as leader of DAN Legislature Party by the alliance legislators at a meeting in Kohima to replace TR Zeliang as Nagaland Chief Minister.
The 81-year-old regional political leader, Dr Shurhozelie will be sworn in as the 17th Chief Minister of Nagaland at 11 am on February 22.
Addressing the DAN legislators meeting at the State Banquet Hall in Kohima, Dr Shurhozelie, the third would-be Chief Minister in DAN III, lauded Zeliang�s �supreme sacrifice� of vacating his chair to save the Naga people from further turmoil.
�He (Zeliang) has done this with a big heart and I want all to recognise this sacrifice,� Dr Shurhozelie said in his acceptance speech after being unanimously elected as the leader of the DAN Legislature Party this morning.
�God willing and with the full support of all of you, I will do my best to see that we work together to bring back normalcy to our land and society. A lot of damage has been done to the fair name of Nagaland and our economy has been adversely affected in the last few weeks. But I hope good sense will prevail so that people can come together and rebuild our society,� he said and appealed to the people of Nagaland to initiate the healing process giving due recognition to the sacrifice made by the outgoing Chief Minister.
�I cannot do magic even if I take over but I have a strong feeling that together we can achieve our goal, together we can do it,� Dr Shurhozelie said.
He also called upon the legislators to forgive one another if there had been differences among them and to move ahead together for the betterment of Naga society.
Meanwhile, the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), who spearheaded the �oust Zeliang movement� in the aftermath of January 31 night police firing incidents, called off their indefinite total bandh all over Nagaland with immediate effect.
In a press release today, the NTAC said it decided to call off the bandh following a meeting with Governor PB Acharya at Raj Bhavan this morning and to focus on re-establishing a harmonious life in the Naga society.
A JCC official, Mar Longkumer, told this correspondent over phone this evening that the JCC has called off the bandh as all their primary demands have been met.
