AIZAWL: With just days to go for the Assembly polls in Mizoram on November 7, the rift between ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has come out in the open.
Party chief and Mizoram’s Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, has declared that he will not share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s upcoming visit to the state to drum up support for the Saffron party ahead of the polls.
Zoramthanga has cited the recent upheaval in Manipur and the reported burning of numerous churches by the Meitei community as pivotal reasons for his decision.
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“The people of Mizoram are all Christians. When the people of Manipur (Meities) burned hundreds of churches in Manipur, they were (Mizos) totally against that kind of idea. To have sympathy with the BJP at this time will be a big minus point for my party,” Zoramthanga told a leading British news agency in an interview.
He believes that association with the BJP during such times would be detrimental to the electoral prospects of his party, the MNF.
“It would be prudent for the prime minister to campaign on his own. Similarly, I would prefer to address the electorate independently,” he was quoted as saying.
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While the MNF is a member of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) and shares an alliance at the national level, the party has chosen not to collaborate with the BJP within the boundaries of Mizoram. Zoramthanga stressed that the MNF’s alliance with both the NDA and NEDA stems from its antipathy towards the Congress, thereby categorically denying any possibility of aligning with a Congress-led coalition.
Shifting focus to the humanitarian crisis, Zoramthanga, during the interview, addressed the issue of refugees seeking shelter in Mizoram. He equated Mizoram’s response to the Centre’s historical stance during the East Pakistan conflict.
“India had extended a helping hand to refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan, even going so far as to arm them. In contrast, while we don’t provide arms to the refugees from Myanmar, our commitment remains towards offering them sustenance and shelter on compassionate grounds,” the Chief Minister stated
Currently, Mizoram is playing host to over 40,000 refugees hailing from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur.
