Kohima, March 26 (MExN): The Sümi Baptist Church Kohima organized a thanksgiving and felicitation service for the newly elected Sümi legislators to the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on Sunday.
During the programme, Y Kikheto Sema, Chairman, BoD SBCK, welcomed the 10 Sümi legislators and also congratulated all 60 legislators in the 14th NLA, according to a press release from the SBCK Media Cell. Sema said that the church is committed to work on Christian unity and extending the kingdom of God. As a bureaucrat and a part of church leadership, he spoke about the need to do away with violence and money power during the election process and suggested the inclusion of clean election teachings in elementary schools and Sunday school curriculum.
As per the press release, Cabinet Minister for Roads and Bridges G Kaito Aye spoke on behalf of the Sümi legislators, appreciating the SBCK organizing such a service. Aye is said to have stated that electoral battle he faced in 2018 and 2023 were the toughest, not because of the candidates contesting against him but because ‘the demand of money in exchange of vote as it was very high.’ Among other things, he also said that the election process in Nagaland was ‘less of the battle between political parties but it was more about money power as it was the demand of the electorates in most constituencies,’ according to the release.
Aye, honestly confessed that during the electioneering process, both the elected and candidates who lost, most of them might have gone against God’s will and he sincerely sought God’s forgiveness for wrong doings, intentionally or unintentionally, it added.
The Minister urged the people to not go against the principles of the church but to value its teachings on clean election and abide by it. He also called for judicious utilization of modern technology and social media platforms to bring overall reforms.
Pastor SBCK Khekavi K Yeptho pronounced a special prayer for the Sümi legislators and all 60 elected lawmakers of 14th NLA. He drew an analogy of the Israelites' compromised morality during the prophetic days of Amos to the current situation in Naga society, where money is becoming more powerful, resulting in utter chaos and confusion. He further urged the legislators to work tirelessly for the welfare of Nagas in general and Sümis in particular, the release stated.
