Konyak Baptist Bumeinok Bangjum (KBBB) has expressed exasperation over the 14 Nagaland Legislative Assembly’s (NLA) decision to allow sale of liquor to foreign delegates at the G-20 business meets scheduled at Kohima between April 4 and 6.
In a statement, KBBB executive secretary Rev M Chemyuh said the foreign delegates arriving in the State where Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act, 1989 was in force must be reminded of the phrase “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.
He pointed out that this relaxation of liquor sale, even if for short period, did not appear in any of the political manifestos during the recently-held Assembly election. He claimed that the churches were baffled by this sudden announcement which he termed as “absolutely preposterous”.
“We must be in a moment of conscience-stricken for having passed this decision of liquor sale, but make no mistake, this total prohibition Act was the result of long struggles, protest & debates, prayer & fast unto death over the decades. We are reminded of the Epistle to the Hebrews, where many Jewish believers, having stepped out of Judaism into Christianity, wanted to reverse their course in order to escape persecution by their countrymen,” Chemyuh stated.
He asked one should behave like those Jews for promotion of tourism and allow liquor sale after having made a commitment with the Lord to impose total prohibition.
He asserted that one could not compromise with the moral responsibility and dilute the ethical principles for the foreign delegates coming to Nagaland for G-20 business meets.
Noting that the government’s reason for the permission of alcohol consumption was in the interest of tourism, the KBBB executive secretary alleged that, by doing so, “the govt is trying to insinuate some section of people who are looking with their inquisitive eyebrows” at the lifting NLTP Act.
He feared that this permission of liquor sale would allure unwary children into addiction, even as many might have already dreamt of venturing into these lucrative liquor businesses.
Instead, he appealed for partial lifting of prohibition while adhering to total prohibition. He asked the State government how many times it had discussed in the Assembly to validate the implementation of NLTP.
Instead of enforcing Act, he wondered whether the government was falling prey to the dictates of foreign delegates coming to Nagaland. He also questioned the government of its sincerity towards implementation of NLTP.
He quoted Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
He warned that going against the will of the churches would mean going against the will of God.