GUWAHATI
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on April 3 accused the Congress of playing the religious card in the State after a Christian organisation declared support for the Lok Sabha candidates of the grand old party.
Referring to a March 26 circular issued by the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF), Mr. Khandu expressed concern over the “politicisation of religion” and warned against divisive electoral practices.
In the circular, the ACF listed six issues to justify its decision to “continue the ongoing democratic movement against the present regime”. The issues include the repealing of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act of 1978, the move to withdraw the Scheduled Tribe status from Christians, and the banning of spiritual activities in the State.
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The ACF also appealed to the people to vote for Congress candidates Nabam Tuki, a former Chief Minister, in the Arunachal West parliamentary constituency and Bosiram Siram in the Arunachal East seat.
The forum issued another circular on April 3, warning of necessary steps against any member “working against the official decision” of the ACF.
According to the 2011 Census, Christians account for more than 30.26% of the population in Arunachal Pradesh followed by 29.04% Hindus, 26.2% adherents of indigenous faiths, and 11.77% Buddhists.
Polling in the two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh will be held in the first phase on April 19 along with the elections to 50 Assembly seats in the State. The BJP won 10 seats in the 60-member House uncontested on March 30, the last date of withdrawal of nominations for the first phase.
On April 3, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma listed 10 scams as reasons for the people to “never vote” for Congress. These include the coal scam, Augusta Westland scam, Commonwealth Games scam, telecom scam, Antrix-Devas scam, and land-for-job scam.
The Chief Minister’s list follows the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee’s ‘maha avijognama’ (mega chargesheet) against his BJP government. The chargesheet lists 50 scams or irregularities allegedly committed by the Chief Minister and members of his family apart from his failures.
Reacting to the charges, Congress MLA Debabrata Saikia said Dr. Sarma has been resorting to “cheap talk” ahead of the election to divert the people’s attention from relevant issues such as price rise, economic crisis, and the Centre’s failure to give jobs to 2 crore youths annually.
“He has probably forgotten that the BJP promised to protect jati [race], mati [land], and bheti [hearth] and provide Scheduled Tribe status to six communities in Assam,” Mr. Saikia said.
