Kolkata, Jan. 19 (IANS): Criticising the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Zoram Nationalist Party leader
Lalduhawma on Saturday said the entire Northeast was “burning” because of its after effects and appealed to all parties in the region to sever links with the BJP.
“If that Bill is enacted..., India will no longer be the place that it used to be... so we want a secular government at the Centre, so that this Bill is withdrawn or exemption must be given to the Northeast,” he said at the opposition rally at the Brigade Parade Ground here.
Lalduhawma is the Leader of Opposition in the Mizoram Assembly.
“I appeal to all regional parties from the Northeast to break away from all kinds of connections with the Bharatiya Janata Party and join this great movement. Let us all unite together in the fight against communalism.
“We are looking forward to seeing a new secular government at the Centre so that people of the Northeast are protected,” he added.
Modi regime testing time for India’s democracy — Former Arunachal CM
Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang, who left the BJP after a four-year association earlier this week, said on Saturday the Narendra Modi regime has been a “testing time” for India’s democracy and accused it of dividing the country.
“The people in Delhi are diving the country, especially the Northeast. The Citizenship Amendment Bill is an example how a political party is dividing the country,” the leader from northeast said.
Apang, who was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Arunachal and had worked under a number of Prime Ministers starting from Indira Gandhi to Manmohan Singh, said all the previous governments at the Centre believed in federal democracy but the current regime at the centre is busy dividing the country.
“I have been fortunate enough to work under Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narsimha Rao, H.D. Deve Gowdaji, who is present here, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“All those people believed in federal democracy. But the last four years have been testing time for Indian democracy,” Apang said addressing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s ‘United India Rally’ here.
Claiming that the democracy in Arunachal Pradesh was going through “the worst phase”, Apang said the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government has refused to start a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the suicide of former Chief Minister Kalikho Pul.
“In Arunachal Pradesh democracy is going through the worst phase. A former chief minister of my state has committed suicide while another minister has suffered a mysterious death.
“But the party in power in Arunachal does not want a CBI inquiry. The CBI has become a puppet in their hands.
“We all know how democratically-elected governments are being tortured by those sitting in power. It is a threat to the country’s democratic ethos,” he added.
