ACAUT raps village councils for usurping citizens’ voting right

Dimapur, November 9: The anti-graft platform Against Corruption and Unabated Corruption (ACAUT) has denounced a recent reported declaration of support to politicians by village councils in Mokokchung district.

The organisation has called upon citizens of Nagaland to reject the unethical practice of leadership-lobbied decisions, such as village councils declaring support to individual political candidates en masse.

The ACAUT issued a press release on Wednesday reminding a number of village councils in said district that their act was not only illegal but a deliberate action of diktat over citizens’ democratic right to vote for whomever they wish to vote for.

Four village councils falling under the 24th Angetyongpang assembly constituency in Mokokchung district and a village are said to have declared support for a minister and a parliamentary secretary. The state’s elections are scheduled for 2018.

“Two very unfortunate and condemnable developments took place in the last few days,” the ACAUT’s press release began. “Firstly, the 4 village councils, namely, Chapka, Yaongyimty Old, Yaongyimty New and Phansang under 24 Angetyongpang A/C declaring their support for the sitting MLA and parliamentary secretary for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Mr. S. Chuba Longkumer, and the Kelingmen village supporting Mr. Nuklutoshi, minister for National Highways in the forthcoming 2018 elections as declared in the newspapers on 6th November, 2016… (the action) is murder of the very tenets of democracy and totally illegal,” the ACAUT stated.

The ACAUT has condemned the act of the village councils in the outright, calling it unprincipled for the five village authorities to take free franchise in own hands.

“The actions of the 5 village authorities could very well be interpreted as a pact to capture polling booths during the 2018 elections in favour of their particular candidates; and such is not only against the Clean Election Campaign of the NBCC and the principle of ‘one man one vote’ but thoroughly criminal,” the organisation stated.

The ACAUT reminded the councils that the Naga people across the state were still yearning for a clean government through clean electoral practices. The five villages deciding to resort to ‘anti-Christian resolutions,’ the ACAUT lamented, is a disappointment for every right-thinking citizen in Nagaland.

Besides, the statement reminded, arbitration on people’s right to vote is ‘most shameful and condemnable.’

The trend of “village council declarations” should be rejected by all right-thinking citizens because it is the main reason why Nagaland still lags, not moving forward either to progress or to prosper, the organisation reminded.

The ACAUT has advised the village authorities to retract the declarations to avoid legal penalties.

Complaint of DCC at bogus voters criticised

The organisation has also denounced a unit of the Congress party allegedly for criticising the administration for reducing the number of voters under ‘DMC area.’

“…the complaint of the District Congress Committee (DCC) castigating the district administration and the authorities for the reduction in voter names under DMC area is uncalled for and most painful,” the press release stated.

“If names in the voter list have been brought down from 1,15,395 in 2004 to 52,083 in 2016, the district administration and the chief electoral officer should instead be applauded.”

According to the organisation, on September 18, 2016, the ACAUT had given a press statement that there were four lakh bogus voters in Nagaland. “On 27th September 2016, the CEO Nagaland, Sanjay Kumar, IAS, in a meeting at Hotel Japfu with nongovernmental organisation and political parties had declared, that, out of 11.20 lakh voters, 4 lakh were bogus.”

The statement itself, though shocking, was a confirmation of what the ACAUT had been maintaining all the time, the organisation stated.

“The problem of Dimapur is that every Naga with permanent address in the other districts is also enrolled here. Also, lakhs of legal and illegal immigrants both are illegally enrolled in the state. Realising that immigrants had enrolled themselves here in huge numbers having dire consequences for the future generation, the NTC had formed a co-ordination committee to unearth the problem taking technical inputs from the state election commission,” the organisation reminded.

Therefore, rather than being jabbed, the district administration and the CEO should be congratulated for the commendable job done, the ACAUT stated.

“When every citizen is clamouring for clean e-roll for a clean election and thereby good governance, the DCC should not be against public opinion. Political rivalry is healthy and part of the democratic process but it should not be at the cost of our people,” the group reminded.

The organisation also stated that the current tally of voters, about 52,083, was not final and it was certainly subject to further reduction.
‘Also, to delete the 4 lakhs bogus names in the state electoral-roll, the ACAUT calls upon the Election Commission of India ECI to carry out Intensive electoral roll revision in Nagaland not done since 2003. Carrying out summary revision exercise is simply inadequate,’ the organisation added.