Prime Minister Modi won't share the platform with me: CM of Mizoram Zoramthanga

 Prime Minister Modi won't share the platform with me: CM of Mizoram Zoramthanga

In response to the upheaval in nearby Manipur, the chief minister of Mizoram, Zoramthanga, a BJP ally at the federal level, has said that he would "not share the stage" with Narendra Modi if the Prime Minister visits the election-bound state.

"No, I won't go on stage with him because... Mizoram's population is Christian. They (Mizos) are adamantly opposed to the concept when the Meitei people of Manipur set hundreds of churches on fire. It would be a major negative for my party, the MNF, to sympathize with the BJP at this moment, Zoramthanga added.

Therefore, even if the Prime Minister shows up alone, it would be preferable if he shared a stage with me while I received a platform to myself. That will benefit us both more.

Despite being a member of the NDA at the federal level, the MNF has no affiliation with the BJP in the state.

The Manipur conflict, which pitted the mostly Hindu Meiteis against the Kuki-Zo, infuriated Mizoram since Mizos and Kuki-Zos have common origin and are both predominantly Christian.

In an interview with BBC News Hindi, Zoramthanga, the head of the Mizo National Front (MNF), was asked whether he would share the platform with Prime Minister Modi when the latter visited Mizoram to campaign for the Assembly elections on November 7.

The BJP, a Mizoram opposition party, claims that Modi will speak at a rally in Mamit on October 30.

According to Zoramthanga's remarks, the unrest in Manipur, which has been governed by the BJP since 2017, is probably going to have an effect on the next elections in Mizoram. The percentage of Christians in Mizoram is about 87%.

Former militant Zoramthanga said in the interview that the move by his administration to assist refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as Manipur's internally displaced people (IDPs) will help the governing MNF in the elections.

Well, that is a significant advantage and a major gain for my current campaign. We are just doing what the Indian government did, which was to assist East Pakistani refugees in 1971, the man said.

"I was in East Pakistan in 1971. How many millions of refugees did you (the Center) host, equip, and aid in achieving independence (a reference to Bangladesh's establishment in 1971)?

"All we are doing is following the Centre's lead. Our Myanmar-born relatives are brothers and sisters. They are unarmed by us. We just provide them with shelter and food. We are just paying attention to the humanitarian aspect.

All of the displaced people from Manipur, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, according to Zoramthanga, were Mizos and had "a lot of influence" in Mizoram.

In response to Zoramthanga's remarks in the interview, Lalthlamuana, a political analyst and professor at Pacchunga University College headquartered in Aizawl, told The Telegraph that several churches have been destroyed and vandalized in Manipur.

"Mizoram residents are angry with the BJP (over what occurred in Manipur)." They believe that both the federal government and the BJP-led Manipur state government have handled the Manipur problem poorly," he added.

People are angry with the BJP over crimes against minorities in other parts of India, including Christians.

The federal government has not yet approved the compensation sum, Lalthlamuana said. "Additionally, the Mizoram administration asked assistance (Rs 10 crore) for the IDPs from Manipur seeking sanctuary in Mizoram.

The Mizo people have not received this kindly at all. Sharing the platform with the Prime Minister or the BJP would negatively affect Zoramthanga and the governing MNF given the general scenario in Manipur.

The Congress spokesman Lalhruaitluanga Bawitlung responded to Zoramthanga's interview, which was posted on Monday night, by saying it was a "perfect example" of "run with the hare and hunt with the hound."

From Aizawl, he advised Zoramthanga to leave the NDA if he didn't want to stand on stage with the Prime Minister.

Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress, said that the MNF and the opposition Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) were "partners" of the BJP, but the MNF disputes this and asserts that it has a "distinct" identity.

The day after the unrest began, on May 4, Zoramthanga wrote to his counterpart in Manipur, N. Biren Singh, expressing his "deep pain" at the "violence that has flared up in parts" of Manipur.

He encouraged Singh to "try and put an end to the senseless violence" while mentioning the "underlying tension between the Meitei community and tribals" in Manipur.

Over 67,000 people have been displaced, and the conflict has claimed at least 176 lives. According to the Manipur police, during the violence 4,786 homes and 386 places of worship were vandalized or damaged.

In a note to the governor of Manipur on June 12, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a coalition of recognized tribes in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, alleged that 253 churches had been destroyed during the ongoing violence.

The three-page ITLF paper claimed that the ethnic cleansing drive by the Meiteis and the communal government of Manipur had caused the Kuki-Zo people to go through one of their most difficult periods in history.

Like the ZPM and the Congress, the MNF is running candidates for all 40 seats in Mizoram. There are 23 candidates running for the BJP, 16 less than in 2018.

The MNF and ZPM will be locked in a close race in the 2019 Assembly elections, which will feature a three-cornered battle between the three parties. According to an analyst, the BJP will have influence in a few localities.

Both the MNF and Zoramthanga are aiming for their second consecutive terms in office.

In a BBC interview, Zoramthanga expressed his optimism that peace will soon return to Myanmar as a result of the peace negotiations he and Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval started before to the most recent elections in the neighboring nation.