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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Minister of State for Home I D Swami on Tuesday said the Union government has decided not to renew the ban on the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah).
The ban will be allowed to lapse on the midnight of November 26, 2002.
Swami said the decision followed NSCN leaders -- Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Swu -- agreeing to come to India to participate in the ongoing peace talks.
"The two NSCN leaders met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in January this year during Vajpayeeji's visit abroad and expressed their willingness to come to India and hold talks provided the government of India lifted the ban on their organisation and withdrew cases registered against them," Swami said.
Asked how soon the two Naga leaders would be able to travel to India, Swami said no dates had been fixed as yet.
Sources in the home ministry, however, said that the talks with the top NSCN leadership were likely to take place in the second week of December. "It all depend on how soon they [Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Swu] come to India. But I guess it would be after Gujarat polls as the Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani would be busy campaigning for his party," he said.
The Nagaland government has already withdrawn cases filed against NSCN leaders in the state. Manipur, however, has refused to withdraw cases against Muivah and Swu.
If the visit materialises, the two leaders would be returning to India after 37 years.
Naga peace process: The complete coverage
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