Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has condemned the “immature and baseless” comments of chief minister Neiphiu Rio made during the campaign coordination meeting of the People’s Democratic Alliance on April 7.
The Congress stated that the fact that Rio continued to be one of the “most ardent apologists of the BJP” in the face of such evidence-backed universal censure spoke volumes about the weight of his assurance when he stated that he would never compromise the faith and identity of the Nagas.
NPCC in a statement pointed out that the chief minister could conveniently turn blind to the reams of data from independent national as well as international rights organisations documenting the BJP’s alleged discriminatory treatment of the minorities in India, including the Christian community, but unfortunately untold Indians who were at the receiving end of this injustice could not afford that luxury.
Secondly, according to the party, the kind of language that he used to belittle the candidature of his opponents was unbecoming of the high office that he held, “and we can only hope that he fares better in the coming days.”
With such a long and eventful political profile under his belt, the NPCC said Rio should know that a weak or strong candidature would be decided on counting day, by the electorate, and not by the subjective views of an individual.
“We respect the will of the voters and have high hope that the people of Nagaland will give a clear and strong mandate in favour of the Congress this time around,” the statement added.
Lastly, NPCC stated that the allegations of misuse of Article 356 by past Congress governments looked like a traffic offence in comparison to the “wholesale and brazen” misuse of state apparatus happening at present under the Narendra Modi government. Wishing the opponent candidates a free, fair and clean campaign, NPCC said “May the best candidate win.”