MP Tokheho Yepthomi. (Morung File Photo)
Dimapur, February 12 (MExN): Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland State, Tokheho Yepthomi, has clarified today that he was not present in Parliament on January 8 when the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 was put to vote.
Therefore, “I did not vote for the said Bill as has been misconstrued by the opposition party and many other individuals,” he informed in a press statement released today. In this context, “the question of me withdrawing my vote does not arise.”
The MP said that he was in Zunheboto to attend a DISHA committee quarterly meeting on January 7.
“It is most unfortunate that without ascertaining the actual facts of the matter, I have been accused led by the opposition party Naga People’s Front and its leaders to put blame on me. It is nothing new that the opposition party often jumps to conclusion with eyes closed to attack the ruling government just so as to earn credit before the eyes of the people. However, in the present case, it is unbecoming of a responsible political party like the NPF to have blindly attacked me without knowing the actual facts,” stated the miffed MP.
He maintained that he does not just “represent my party in the Lower House of Parliament” but the “people of Nagaland, cutting across party lines and affiliation.”
Moreover, “I will never intentionally or unintentionally try and jeopardise the rights and privileges of the people of the state.”
The MP asked the opposition party and “all others who have unjustly accused me” to “rethink their statements and publicly put the records straight before the people who have been misled by these false and defaming statements and accusations.”
