Polls campaign tour of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi cancelled

Aizawl: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s planned campaign visit for the Mizoram assembly elections has been cancelled.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi was scheduled to visit the northeastern state of Mizoram on Friday (03 November) for election campaigning.
“Due to unavoidable reasons, we are informing that Priyanka Gandhi’s visit (to Mizoram) has been cancelled,” a Congress spokesperson said.
Priyanka Gandhi will campaign for Congress candidates in linguistic minority areas in southern and western parts of Mizoram.
It should be noted that the Congress party has fielded candidates in all the 40 assembly constituencies of Mizoram.
Polling for the 40-member Mizoram Legislative Assembly elections is scheduled to be held in a single phase on November 7.
Votes in Mizoram will be counted on December 3 along with four other Indian states that go to polls along with the northeastern state.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has alleged that the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and the opposition Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) are “unofficial agents” of the BJP in the constituency of Mizoram.
On Thursday (November 02), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “MNF and ZPM are working as unofficial agents of BJP.
The Congress president made the statement targeting the BJP’s efforts to expand its base in the predominantly Christian northeastern state of Mizoram.
“The BJP-RSS is against diversity, and they want to take away the valuable land and forest owned by the tribals, for the welfare of their cronies,” Kharge said.
He added: “People of Mizoram deserve peace, prosperity and development.”
Mallikarjun Kharge further said that peace has returned in Mizoram due to the efforts of the Congress party.

“Rajiv Gandhi brought peace to Mizoram through the peace accord in 1986 and achieved statehood in 1987,” Kharge said.
He said: “The Congress party has always been committed to its (Mizoram) development.”

Talking about the Congress party’s election promises ahead of the Mizoram assembly elections, Mallikarjun Kharge said: “What we promise, we deliver.”

“Our guarantees will usher in prosperity, inclusiveness and economic security for the state of Mizoram,” Kharge said.
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday (November 01) launched a strong attack on the BJP, saying that democracy is under attack under its rule.
In a video message to the people of Mizoram, Sonia Gandhi said that the BJP does not value diversity and democracy but wants to impose uniformity across the country.
She said that there is a threat to democracy from BJP and RSS in Mizoram, Northeast and all over India.

They do not value diversity, democracy or dialogue. They want to impose uniformity across India,” she said.
Sonia Gandhi alleged that the BJP in Parliament pushed for laws that undermined tribals’ rights to their lands and forests.

She said that BJP has divided the society in Manipur too.
“Six months of suffering have passed. But there is no effort towards peace and reconciliation.
The Prime Minister is completely silent and has not even visited Manipur for a few hours,” she said JP did not allow MP from Mizoram to speak in Parliament on Manipur issue.
In his three-minute video, Gandhi also recalled his personal relationship with the people of Mizoram.

He recounted these visits with his family after the signing of the historic Mizoram Peace Accord in 1987.
He urged the people of Mizoram, especially the youth and women, to vote for the Congress to ensure peace, development and prosperity in the state.
The former Congress president also said that only the Congress party can guarantee the development of Mizoram, the empowerment of its people and the protection of the weaker sections of the society.
“We stand for the protection of the Mizo way of life as enshrined in Article 371G of the Constitution, which is the legacy of Rajiv Gandhi,” she said.
She also recalled how the party has fulfilled its promises in other states including Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
Sonia Gandhi also criticized the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), calling them a gateway for the BJP in Mizoram.
In Mizoram, the MNF and ZPM say they are independent, “But are they really? No, I believe they are not. They are the gateway for the BJP in Mizoram.
The Congress party is with the BJP.” She would never compromise, she used to say.
She also appealed to the people of Mizoram not to experiment with MNF and ZPM, which he termed as proxies of BJP.