PHEK, MARCH 6 (MExN): The BJP unit of 17 Chizami Assembly Constituency has pointed fingers at the church for what it described as church leaders campaigning against the party during the elections to the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
The BJP Chizami Mandal, in a press release, accused church leaders in the constituency of carrying out an agenda of urging “gullible villagers” against voting for the BJP or face the prospect of “losing their salvation” or exclusion from the church.
Stating that the action has raised doubt on the credibility of the church, it said, “At a juncture when we needed the church to play its role in bringing peace and harmony among contesting parties, the church… took a partisan stand, supporting the NPF.”
According to it, the Clean Election Campaign (CEC) led by the NBCC, also adopted by the CBCC, was a sham. Accusing church workers – deacons and deaconesses – of indulging in proxy voting and negotiating for favours from political parties, it held that the CEC only targeted the BJP and even used the church as a platform to preach against the party.
It also condemned what it termed as “the lowest form of slandering” in which “anti-BJP posters, personally targeting our BJP candidate Kevechutso Doulo were printed and even pasted all over the district, more surprisingly even within certain church premises.”
“The NBCC has infringed upon our fundamental rights to free choice and has tried to influence the choice of its members of the state.”
“We hope that the church will also take it up as their responsibility to ensure that development reaches our area since they have made it their priority to become such a pivotal part of the elections especially in the Chizami Assembly Constituency.” With the NPF also seeking alliance with the BJP, it contested that the church rebukes the NPF too.
While it questioned the church’s integrity, it accused NPF Secretary General KG Kenye and the NDPP Phek division president of masterminding a merger of NPF and the NPP in the constituency to gang up against the BJP candidate.
