Guwahati: A day after Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the BJP was defeated in Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya only because of religious factors, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Friday described it as an irresponsible and reckless comment of a chief minister.
Gogoi also urged the chief ministers of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur to reject the statement of the Assam chief minister.
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Christianity is the main religion in Nagaland (87.93 per cent, Manipur (41.29 per cent) and Meghalaya (74.59 per cent).
Christian constitutes 30.26 per cent of Arunachal Pradesh’s population.
Without mentioning Christianity Sarma on Thursday while addressing a press conference suggested that leaders from a specific religion who typically refrain from politics had opposed NDA, making it difficult to compete.
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The BJP-led NDA was defeated in Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya by Congress and regional parties.
“When I talked to our office bearers they told me that the cause was a religious one. When a religious leader takes part in politics, politicians can’t compete. You can’t compete with the religion. You can compete with Congress, you can compete with BJP or AGP, but how can you compete with Srimanta Shankardeva Sangha? How can you compete with Ek Saran Bhagawati Samaj? When spiritual leaders decide, the politician has to minimize their activities. We can fight political opponents but not religious leaders,” Sarma also said.
“NEDA has not been working since I took over as the chief minister. I have been asked by the party not to campaign in any of the Northeast, but the party asked me to campaign in Eastern Indian states, except Arunachal Pradesh. I could not contribute to the best of my ability in Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya. I was not aware of the situation in the northeastern states. Our party thinks Assam has boundary has boundary disputes with all northeastern states. So Assam CM should not be seen on these states frequently,” Sarma said.
“But In Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim we had good performance, he claimed,” he added.
Commenting on Sarma’s statement Gaurav Gogoi said: “It reflects the chief minister’s inability to take responsibility for the NDA’s defeat.”
“I condemn the irresponsible and reckless statement of the chief minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma. He does not have the maturity to accept the responsibility for the losses of the NDA in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur. I appeal to the chief ministers of the respective states to publicly condemn the statement. Together we must preserve the unique identity of the Northeast,” Gogoi added.