Aizawl: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday that the BJP and its ideological parent RSS’s “one ideology, one organisation” agenda would lead to the “cultural annihilation” of the Northeast.
In poll-bound Mizoram, Gandhi said his party did not believe in running the state from Delhi, and claimed the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) was at the beck and call of the BJP at the Centre.
He further said the BJP and RSS were attacking the states in the Northeast and that the situation in conflict-ridden Manipur was symptomatic of the Centre’s “one ideology, one organisation” approach. “The Manipur model is the RSS model,” Gandhi said.
While replying to a question from ThePrint, Gandhi continued: “Your religious foundation, and languages are all being attacked by the RSS, which believes India should be ruled by one ideology and one organisation. And that is what we (the Opposition INDIA alliance) are fighting. We do not believe that Mizoram should be ruled from Delhi. We want the people of Mizoram to make decisions for the future, we want them to be comfortable in expressing themselves and their religious and social practices.”
He accused Assam Chief Minister and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma of trying to open a door for the far-right RSS to enter Mizoram. “This will lead to the cultural annihilation of the Northeast… the destruction of the cultures of the region,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader further said the two regional parties in Mizoram — the MNF and the regional Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) – were the “entry points for the RSS and BJP” in the state. “MNF is directly in alliance with the BJP, and the ZPM is clearly not fighting the BJP,” Gandhi added.
Pitching for the INDIA alliance in Mizoram, which goes to polls on 7 November, Gandhi said the Opposition bloc believed that the culture, languages and religions in the Northeast was central to the idea of India.
“INDIA believes that all religions, all cultures, all histories need to be protected. Our vision is one of giving power to the people, we will defend the idea of INDIA by protecting the Constitution, and make sure that people, regardless of their religion and culture can express themselves and have freedom and comfort to live in India. The INDIA alliance represents 60 per cent (voters) of the country,” he added.
The Congress leader said the youth of Mizoram should know that employment is a concern in the state among many other issues, and that the Congress could overcome these challenges.
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