On the advice of the umbrella committee of all the larger NGOs of Mizoram – the NGO Coordination Committee, the Central Young Mizo Association has urged Chief Electoral Officer of Mizoram SB Shashank to step down from his post and leave Mizoram. The association has asked the CEO to leave Mizoram before Monday nightfall.
The CYMA decision came after the CEO SB Shashank filed a complaint to Election Commission of India against Lalnunmawia Chuaungo, principal secretary of Mizoram accusing him of being a sole instrument in abetting Mizoram government’s intrusion to curtail the rights of Brus living in Tripura Refugee Camps.
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“It will be a non-violent movement, we request all the members of the YMA to volunteer and participate in the Save Mizoram movement, the movement will be in force until this so called CEO quit Mizoram,” R Lalngheta, vice president of CYMA, said.
The ministry of home affairs on November 2 issued an order relieving Chuaungo from the principal secretary post of Mizoram. Chuaungo is a 1987 batch IAS from Gujarat cadre and has been on inter-cadre deputation to the state of Mizoram.
Chuaungo, as the head of home and finance department after model code of conduct was enforced in Mizoram sought an explanation from CEO as to why so many Central Armed Police Forces were proposed to be deployed in contrary to Mizoram’s reputation of peaceful polls in the past.
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The CEO without any prior consultation and discussion with Mizoram home and finance department made the decision to deploy over 40 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, which the principal secretary questioned, which CEO Shashank said was a direct interference in the electoral process and an act of curtailing the rights of the Bru Refugees or to curtail free and fair election.
On Oct 29, the Mizoram CEO then filed a complaint against Lalnunmawia Chuaungo to Election Commission of India.
The axing of Lalnunmawia Chuaungo and the alleged attempt of the CEO to set up a polling station at the Tripura Bru relief camps then angered the already disappointed larger NGOs of Mizoram who convened an emergent meeting on Saturday. The meeting unanimously agreed on the ouster of the CEO SB Shashank.
In a separate meeting of all the branches of YMA within Aizawl city area, the CYMA then resolved that SB Shashank leave Mizoram before nightfall on Monday.
“The Election Commission of India has made a written agreement that no election process would be carried out in the Bru relief camps but despite the written statement has directed the state election department to carry out electoral roll revisions in the Bru camps. The Brus are offered repatriation nine times, they still refused to return, all the NGOs of Mizoram felt that enough is enough,” Vanlalruata, president of the CYMA said.
“The people of Mizoram are very lenient to the Brus, those who have returned are co-living with the Mizos in complete harmony. Due to their several complaints to the Centre, we are cornered as being racist and dared not speak nor do anything against them, the situation has reached a saturation point, the CYMA will not budge anymore,” R Lalngheta said.
The CYMA said branches would be on duty to make sure that no election process is carried out in the entire state of Mizoram. The CYMA has also issued a notice to its district sub-headquarters to make sure that no district election offices are functional before SB Shashank quit Mizoram.