Aizawl/Imphal, July 14: Mizoram’s BJP state Vice President R. Vanramchhuanga has resigned from his post accusing Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their indifferent attitude towards the Christian community in the violence-hit state.
Vanramchhuanga submitted his resignation letter to Mizoram state BJP President Vanlalhmuaka on Thursday.
In his resignation letter, he said : “Due to the recent outbreak of ethnic conflict in Manipur state, 357 Christian churches, pastor quarters and office buildings belonging to different churches were so far burnt into ashes by Meitel militants. However, the incident was not blamed by Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Imphal, but neither had he blamed the burning of church buildings.
“Even the Central government has not expressed any word to condemn the burning of Christian churches. Therefore, I do believe that massive demolition of Christian Churches in Manipur was supported by the state and Central authorities.
“To protest against this act of criminal injustice to the Christians and the Christian religion, I do hereby submit my resignation as the state Vice President, BJP Mizoram Pradesh with immediate effect.”
While talking to IANS over the phone on Friday, he said that some Congress and Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) leaders met him on Thursday and approached him to join their parties. But he told them that he was yet to decide on his future course of action.
He said that he cannot continue to neither hold an important post in the BJP nor continue to remain as even a primary member of such a party which endorses attacks against Christians and the Christian religion by burning a large number of church buildings.
Elections to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly will be held this year end. BJP has a lone member in the house.
On the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming Assembly polls, Vanramchhuanga said that the ethnic conflict in Manipur and the party’s failure to deal with the crisis will impact its prospects.
In the recent local body and tribal autonomous council elections, the BJP did well but Manipur conflict shattered all the electoral prospects in Mizoram, he said.
Vanramchhuanga is the first BJP leader quit the party in the northeastern region in protest against the Manipur violence, which broke out after a tribal organisation held a rally on May 3 opposing the recognition of the Meitei community as Scheduled Tribe.
The violence has so far has claimed over 150 lives and injured more than 600 people.
Hundreds of men and women from the Chin, Kuki, Mizo, and Zomi communities on Wednesday held a protest rally Aizawl against the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur and also burnt the posters of Biren Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The ZO Reunification Organisation (ZORO), which organised the rally, has demanded an immediate stop of the ethnic violence and creation of a separate state for the tribals in Manipur.
Addressing the protestors, ZORO President R. Sangkawia had condemned the attacks on Zo ethnic people in Manipur and the silence of Prime Minister Modi even after more than two months of violence.
According to the 2011 Census, Christians constitute 41.29 per cent of around three million population of Manipur and make up 87 per cent of the 1.2 million population in Mizoram.
