Dimapur, January 18 (MExN): The Nagaland Joint Christian Forum (NJCF) on Wednesday expressed resentment against the demand for President’s Rule in Nagaland. The forum in a statement issued by its Vice President, Rev Dr N Paphino said that in recent times there has been a demand from various frontal organisations in the State for President’s rule.
“It is difficult to understand why citizens from a Christian State like Nagaland want to be controlled directly by the Central Government dominated by RSS,” it stated adding, “Imposing President’s rule on a State simply means that a State government cannot administer the respective State and the Central Government will directly administer the State through a Governor.”
The forum cited that in the past years too, Nagaland had suffered heavily under President Rule but in those days the RSS is not as powerful as it is today. “While the Churches have nothing to say and comment on political matters, it is more concerned about how the Christians will now suffer under the RSS if President Rule is imposed,” it stated. ‘Without constitutional breakdown, if President Rule is imposed, the people will lose faith in the system of parliamentary democracy where secularism is one of the main pillars of democracy,’ NJCF said.
In Nagaland, the forum said, ‘we have a unique system of grassroot democracy at the village level and in the event of President Rule being imposed the pure democratic system which we have will be cut off and the policies of central government which is dominated by RSS will overshadow the policies of the state.’ “In such a situation, where the centre will directly control the state there will be forceful implementation of central government policies which is going to be politically motivated and it will be very dangerous for a Christian state like Nagaland,” it cautioned.
‘In President Rule there will also be absence of government of the people, for the people and by the people and the State will be run by bureaucrats who will be just mere puppets of Central government,’ NJCF said.
The forum also said that in Nagaland, AFSPA which is an act of the Parliament of India that grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in disturbed areas is also in place in selected areas.
‘According to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in an area that is proclaimed as “disturbed”, an officer of the armed forces has powers to fire upon or use other kinds of force even if it causes death, against the person who is acting against law or order in the disturbed area for the maintenance of public order. Also the Army officers have legal immunity for their actions and there can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal proceeding against anyone acting under that law,’ NJCF stated.
“In such a scenario, the Central Government which supports RSS ideologies can use both the President Rule and AFSPA to harass the Christians and do lot of damage in a very short span of time,” the forum alleged.
Stating that “there is a rise in violence against Christian communities in various parts of the Country,” NJCF has urged ‘every sensible Christians should oppose President Rule and also condemn any citizens or forum seeking the President Rule in the State.’
“On our part the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum will pray that the RSS culture of Central government does not prevail over the Christians in the State of Nagaland,” it added.
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