Ukhrul: The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), an apex body of the Tangkhul community in Manipur, on Saturday expressed dismay and displeasure over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for a nationwide cleanliness drive on Sunday.
The proposed cleanliness drive scheduled on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary is “nothing but a direct insult on the sentiments of the minority Christian Community of the Country” as per the TNL.
TNL President said that the premier’s announcement defies logic and reason. The TNL, as the apex body of the Tangkhul Naga Tribe cannot help but express dismay at such blatant display of disrespect and intolerance of the Socio-religious diversity which has been a distinct hallmark of the nation, he said.
Earlier, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) termed the clarion call as ‘playing into the nerves of the Naga people’s religious ethos’.
Nagas as Christians cannot simply abide by the call of the Prime Minister no matter how noble is the cleanliness drive, said the Naga group.
It also stated that for any such nationwide drive for cleanliness, the sentiment attached with the spirit of secularism must be rightfully respected.
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“Naga people will stand as one Christian family to resist such cleanliness initiative that defies the mutual respect for different faiths that reflects the secular character of India,” the NSCN-IM had said.
It said that the group cannot remain as mere spectator to any policy or initiative that obstructs and undermine Christian faith. The Nagas cannot deny God by obeying the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it added.
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