Dimapur, March 4 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has stated that “serious electoral reform” is necessary in Nagaland State as the “present system of election is not fit for the rural poor society who does not understand the system and purpose of election.”
The NPCC President, K Therie, stated this in a press release today, observing that “the rural population has become too poor and has nothing more than money in their minds.”
“People are hungry and thirsty. There is a money famine in the state. They do not have money for medicine or for admission fees. Many households have four to five unemployed qualified children,” he stated.
This situation, Therie said, has been “exploited with corrupt money gained from MGNREGA, the BJP and the NDPP,” thereby terming the last poll result a “mindless verdict.”
“People have chosen corrupt money over leadership, issues and programmes. I am pained to see that many educated persons who behave like having high morals in society and Church, are the ones with money bags moving house to house to buy votes,” stated the NPCC President.
Highlighting electoral malpractices, the NPCC maintained that the “entire election was reduced to an auction of votes. For a house having two votes, Rs. 1 lakh was paid. There was no vote for good roads, hospitals, schools and other decaying infrastructures. No one raised objection to MGNREGA corruptions. No one raised issues from the Election Manifestos. Some party did not even offer Election Manifesto. The Electoral College did not question or discuss issues or manifestos.”
Training its guns on the Representation of People Act, 1951, the NPCC President noted that the “The Act has outlived itself and is no more effective.” “The Electoral Roll itself is defective with multiple entries. Bribes and massive proxy voting could not be stopped. CCTV and Web casting could not stop proxy voting,” Therie stated.
He blamed the malpractices for the Congress’ “debacle”—“for our inability to beat the power of corrupt money.”
“It was known that Congress was going to draw a blank but we decided not to retire INC candidates. We gave what we have to the people of Nagaland.
If one has gone through our election Manifesto, we believe, we have given a vision document that was meant for change in totality. Congress candidates were the best candidates. They were all God fearing secular-minded leaders with good morals,” stated the NPCC President, thereby concluding that the Congress “does not belong to such corrupt society,” refusing to “honour and accept the verdict as a democratic mandate.”
