Mokokchung, February 7 (MExN): The Imkongmeren Sports Complex became a sea of humanity as thousands throng the local stadium to see the AICC President and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi arrive to campaign for the Congress party here today.
The security was elaborate with the local police and central para-military personnel securing the perimeter of the venue while the personal bodyguards of Sonia Gandhi most probably drawn from the National Security Guard secured the inner circle around her.
The UPA Chairperson and AICC President Sonia Gandhi touted to be the most powerful person in the country looked, by all means, elegant and her oration spellbinding. Donning a traditional Ao shawl and necklace, Ms Gandhi endeared herself with the audience especially when she said that the shawl and the necklace were presented by the people of Mokokchung to her late mother-in-law “Indiraji” when she visited Mokokchung way back in the eighties.
She had in store some praise for the people of Mokokchung. She said that Mokokchung district is one of the most literate districts in all over the country and the people of Mokokchung has contributed immensely to the social, economic and political uplift of the people of Nagaland. Terming Mokokchung as the centre of political, cultural and intellectual centre of Nagaland, Ms Gandhi also said that Mokokchung has produced a lot of politicians who have given shape to the political life of the Naga people. Besides she also said that the Naga youths have excelled in every field and successful in every field and are living comfortably in other part of the country. She praised the Naga people for always having a ready smile for everybody and hospitable to everyone. She added that the Congress party has always believed in the unity of the country by preserving and protecting the cultures and traditions in which Nagaland is an example because the Congress party gave the Article 371 (A) for the protection of the Naga culture.
However, she had some denigration in store for the present DAN Government and said that the present Nagaland government has ‘fully betrayed’ the peoples’ mandate for ten years by siphoning of huge amount of central funds for the benefit of some individuals.
Declaring that she is in Nagaland to urge for peoples’ support, Sonia Gandhi urged the people to vote for Congress saying that a vote for Congress will be a vote for a better and brighter future which will
ensure the dreams and aspirations of the youths to be fulfilled through the Congress party’s programmes.
Meanwhile, nine out of ten Congress candidates in Mokokchung showed their faces to the audience while former Chief Minister Dr SC Jamir also addressed the audience. The UPA Chairperson and AICC President arrived 12:30 Pm and left after delivering her speech for Dimapur.
