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Mizoram alliance attacks BJP, MNF

By Newmai News

AIZAWL, March 25 - Zoram People�s Movement (ZPM) and Congress, who fought against each other in the last Mizoram Assembly elections held in November last year, made a joint appeal on Monday to the voters for support to defeat the BJP�s ally Mizo National Front (MNF) in the Lok Sabha polls.

ZMP and Congress, which forged a pre-poll alliance on March 7, kicked off their campaign for the lone Lok Sabha seat and Assembly by-election to Aizawl West-I seat in a meeting held at Vanapa Hall here. The alliance has named football icon and journalist Lalnghinglova Hmar as their common candidate for Lok Sabha polls and a retired bureaucrat Lalbuanga Sailo for Assembly by-election. Both the candidates have been branded as the �people�s candidates� by the alliance.

Speaking on the occasion, State Congress president and former Chief Minister, Lal Thanhawla said the Congress and the ZPM have forged an alliance by surrendering their party identities to stand for the rights of the Mizo people and protection of Mizoram and Christianity.

Citing that the alliance strongly believes in secularism, Lal Thanhawla said it would strongly oppose any move to violate the concept of secularism and principles of equality of all before law in the country. He alleged that the BJP-led NDA Government has been attempting to suppress religious minorities other than the Hindus.

�The Christian and the Muslim religions, whose origins were in foreign countries are the prime target of the BJP,� he alleged. The Congress president also slammed the ruling MNF for being part of the BJP-led NDA Government.

�No matter how far the MNF denies its allegiance to NDA, it is part of the alliance as long as it extends support to the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA),� he said.

Urging the people to vote for ZPM-Congress combine nominees, Lal Thanhawla also said that the people of Mizoram have to ignore and sideline the BJP�s ally MNF. He said that the BJP, if re-elected, is firm on re-introducing Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which is very harmful for a State like Mizoram.

Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) president and ZPM Legislature Party leader, Lalduhoma also slammed the ruling MNF for trying to mislead the people over the ZPM-Congress alliance. He said that forging electoral or pre-poll alliance is not a new thing in the history of Mizoram politics as several alliances were formed by opposition parties before Assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls in the past. He added that the �alliance� formed by opposition parties have so far defeated the ruling party in three Lok Sabha polls in the past.

Taking a dig at BJP, the ZPM leader said it is attempting to suppress the Christian minorities by �interfering in their food habits and important days.� He also said that the BJP Government has damaged the secular fabric of the country by declaring Christmas as Good Governance Day and observing Digitial India Day on Good Friday.

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