Nagaland Baptist Church Council has right to have its point of view, says BJP leader

DIMAPUR — The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national spokesperson and Nagaland in-charge, Nalin Kohli, on Friday responded to the recent statement issued by the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC)’s Clean Election Movement (CEM) branch.

The convenor of CEM had on Wednesday issued a statement, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, urging the citizens of Nagaland to vote consciously against ‘bigotry’, while expressing concern over ‘targeting’ of minorities, suppression of dissenting voices and handling of Manipur crisis, among others.

On this, Kohli said that in a democracy, the Constitution gives everybody the right to have a point of view, including the NBCC, but “as far as we see it, I think the world recognises, India recognises, the ordinary voter of India knows that it is a fully functional democracy”.

The BJP leader, who is in Dimapur to review the preparations for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) election rally on Saturday, went on to say that democracy is always strongest and survives when the people have an opportunity to vote freely or whoever they want.

India is the world’s largest democracy and it is the testimony of the people that they can vote for any candidate they want, he added.

Addressing media persons after a review meeting with BJP workers at Hotel Saramati in Dimapur, Kohli said the alliance is working towards ensuring a third term for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, under whose leadership the central government has served the people of India with focus on the north-east, including Nagaland.

Winning the Nagaland parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha is one step more towards strengthening the government, he added.

On the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) abstaining from participating in the electoral process over the Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT) issue, he said that it is the appeal of the government to always see that the largest number of people come out to vote. However, he said that regardless of the issue at hand, in a democracy, there are waya and means of addressing things and it should be seen in that positive light.

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‘Show-cause notice to Patton considered closed’

Regarding the show-cause notice served to Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland, Y. Patton by the Election Commission of India (ECI) over his controversial statement, he said the commission has taken note of Patton’s response that it was made as a ‘joke’, and the notice was considered closed.

In response to the growing perception in Nagaland about the Congress candidate being a strong contender in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Kohli drew experience from past elections, claiming that the Congress party relies on press conferences and media coverage, while the NDA and BJP focus on grassroots engagement.