A planned discussion on “satanic worship” that was scheduled for the first day of the monsoon session was postponed by the Nagaland Assembly on Tuesday. Under Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business on the “Prohibition of Satanic Worship in Nagaland,” former home minister and leader of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) Legislature Party Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu raised the matter with the House. The issue was added to the day’s list after the Assembly secretariat acknowledged it as one of “urgent public importance.” Speaker Sharingain Longkumer, however, declared that the topic had been “deferred until further listing” prior to its adoption.
Speaking to the media, Nienu stated that the Speaker and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had requested the postponement, emphasizing the importance of doing a thorough analysis prior to presenting the matter before the House. “This is a significant issue. In order to draft a suitable law that would outlaw such a cult, it needs to be considered in the Assembly, Nienu claimed. The government’s move to table the matter has drawn “severe concern,” according to the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum (NJCF), which warned that an Assembly discussion could unintentionally “promote or legitimise” a practice that it defined as “universally rejected and alien to Naga society.”
Although both political and civil society voices continue to demand clarity, the question of whether the Assembly should formally deliberate on the problem remains unresolved as a result of the item being deferred.
