Dimapur: Amid controversy arising out of a viral video, Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister, Y Patton, has issued a clarification expressing regret over his remark made during a campaign at Wokha.
The 30 second clip which was shared on social media saw Patton saying, “If possible – let the chairman, gaonburas, polling agents can cast the votes. Don’t give trouble to the village people. Let them go and work in the fields.”
Terming the statement he made as an, “ill-advised attempt at humour”, Patton said that it should not be taken literally but rather as a “tongue-in-cheek about the remark sometimes burdensome nature of the election process for rural populations”.
The Deputy Chief Minister, through his statement, expressed regret for any misunderstanding and emphasised his respect for the electoral process, urging participation in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
“The statement I made was an ill-advised attempt at humor, told in the heat of the moment during a campaign event comprising mostly party workers from different political partners. It was not meant to be taken literally, but rather as a tongue-in-cheek remark about the sometimes burdensome nature of the election process for rural populations,” he said in the statement.
“I do regret the utterances of poorly chosen words and further call upon each and everyone to take part in the electoral process during this forthcoming Parliamentary election,” he added.
Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee had condemned the statement, labelling it a brazen breach of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and announced lodging a complaint. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), NPCC expressed shock at such blatant MCC violation from a figure of Patton’s stature.
“The Congress Party in Nagaland believes that every vote is sacred & will not allow the promotion of such electoral malpractices slide unchallenged,” the statement added.
The president of NSUI Nagaland, the student wing of the Congress party, also criticized Patton’s remarks, stating, “The brazenness exhibited by Mr. Patton, who is the Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland, says a lot about our so-called leaders. Also, the congregation cheering and clapping at his despicable speech says a lot about where we stand as a society.”
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Speaking to EastMojo, Chophika Sumi, the President of NSUI Nagaland, reiterated concerns and stated, “A complaint has been lodged yesterday through the cVIGIL app, and we are going to lodge a formal complaint today through the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nagaland office”.
“I think every right-thinking citizen of the state should condemn it. And this coming from the Deputy Chief Minister of the state – this is totally unacceptable,” he said.
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