Amid the unfortunate killings of civilians in Nagaland, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has sought for the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) to be repealed on Monday.

Speaking at funeral services of the civilians who were killed, CM Rio said, "AFSPA is a draconian law, which is condemned worldwide".

Calling for the repealing of the act, he said that AFSPA should be immediately removed from the state, adding that the Centre had said that it cannot do so.

He said, "The Centre has said that it cannot remove AFSPA from Nagaland. There is no point of continued implementation of AFSPA in Nagaland. There is peace in the state. We are asking central government to remove AFSPA from Nagaland. This law has blackened the image of our country".

Amid the Nagaland CM's appeal, many organizations including Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and Naga Mothers' Association (NMA), and other civil society organizations have also renewed their age-old demand to repeal the draconian law from the northeast.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma also echoed CM Rio's appeal. In a tweet, he wrote, "AFSPA should be repealed".

Notably, the demands are not new as the draconian and much-debated AFSPA, which had been invoked to fight the growing insurgency in the region. Though over the years, people of the region have alleged that the security forces sometimes cross their limits with impunity under the law.

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