A Nagaland minister has held the state’s literate section responsible for its woes.

“Nagaland is suffering because literate people are not willing to work,” a government statement, quoting Nagaland education and tourism minister Temjen Imna Along, said on Saturday. He was addressing the concluding session of the All Nagaland College Students’ Union (ANCSU) Collegiate meet in Dimapur on Friday.

Though the government statement did not elaborate on the reasons behind Along’s remark, this is not the first time he has criticised the state’s literate people.

On January 24, while addressing the 5th convocation of the National Institute of Technology at its campus in Chümoukedima, Along had similarly flagged how the literate people were making the state suffer because they were “unable or unwilling” to do anything and in the process were becoming a burden on their families, government and society at large.

Along had rued the fact that the literates have “lost” humility, they cannot put in the hard yards and prefer to forming unions to working.