Aizawl (Mizoram) [India], April 17 (HBTV): Pu Lalbiakzama, the Congress' candidate for the Mizoram Lok Sabha seat has said that the response of the people of Mizoram amid the election campaign is surprising and that they will be supporting the party as they are apprehensive about minorities being sidelined.
Speaking to ANI, Pu Lalbiakzama said, ‘I admit to the fact that Congress is going down but the response of people in Mizoram is surprising. Whenever I go out and campaign, people come and flock with us.’
‘They say that they are going to elect Congress from Mizoram because they have seen what happened in central India, what happened to the minorities. So people are very apprehensive about the development in India. Only party to counter this is the Indian National Congress party. So I am getting a positive response from the people.’
Lalbiakzama stressed that the current and the most important issue that the people of Mizoram are facing is the apprehension of minorities being sidelined, and questioning the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in regard to attacks against minorities, including Christians.
‘The current issue in Mizoram is the apprehension that minorities are being sidelined. Their religions are being trampled. The violence against Christianity all over India is increasing like anything. In 2014, the incidence of violence was 147; during the previous year, it was 687. But still Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah remained silent. These are the issues that are affecting Mizoram also.’
On being asked about the other problems and issues the state is facing, the Congress candidate admitted the need to stabilize the economy and address unemployment.
‘Like all other states, we have our own problems. Our economic infrastructure is very weak. The first thing that we need to address is stabilizing our economy. Apart from that, youth unemployment is everywhere,’ he said.
(ANI) This is a syndicated news feed. HBTV has edited it for brevity and clarity.