Church Body Reacts to Mizo CM Remarks

Aizawl, Nov 8 : The Church-sponsored election watchdog Mizoram Peoples Forum (MPF) has taken a strong exception to Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla’s remarks that it 'approved' lies during the election campaigns.

''The Chief Ministers remarks came as a shock to the MPF, which has never approved lies. On the contrary, the MPF had kept appealing to political parties, their candidates and supporters to refrain from telling lies or half-truths,'' MPF said in statement yesterday.

''If a candidate told lies on a common platform organised by the MPF, it was the candidates responsibility and not necessarily due to the MPFs approval,'' it added.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had, after the announcement of the Aizawl civic polls results, attributed his party’s dismal performance to the 'repeated lies' told by the opposition parties about the power and function of the municipal council.

Despite its landslide victories in every election during the last two years-from assembly to Lok Sabha to village councils-the Congress party narrowly won the first elections to the Aizawl Municipal Council on November three by winning in ten of the 19 wards, that too supported by a regional party ZNP. The opposition Mizo National Front-Mizoram People's Conference combine won in nine seats.

The MPC on Saturday reviewed, under the chairmanship of its president Rev C Chawngliana, the first Aizawl Council Municipal and expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conduct of polls.

The election watchdog thanked all political parties, the candidates and their supporters and the voters for strictly adhering to the guidelines issued by the MPF for peaceful, low-profile and inexpensive elections.

The MPC had played a laudable role of watchdog in the last state assembly elections in 2008, making the elections the most peaceful and most inexpensive elections in the country.

Alongside the Election Commission's code of conduct, the Church issued its own code proscribing, among other things, door-to-door campaigns, organisation of community feasts, use of loudspeakers and music bands. The guidelines were strictly followed in a strict conservative Christian society like Mizoram where more than 80 per cent are Christians.