Thursday, July 5, 2012

Mizo National Front slams Punjab MLA for stray dog remark

AIZAWL: The Mizoram opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) took strong exception to the resolution moved by Congress legislator Ajit Singh Mofar in the Punjab assembly regarding the disposal of stray dogs in Punjab to China, Nagaland and Mizoram. The MNF demanded that Mofar tender a public apology to the people of the northeast. Congress legislator Ajit Singh Mofar moved a resolution in the Punjab assembly on Thursday seeking to tackle the stray dog problem in the state by sending them to China, Mizoram or Nagaland for "whatever they do to them".

"We can make arrangements to put the stray dogs in jungles and zoos or send them to China, Nagaland and Mizoram where they are needed more. Stray dogs are a big nuisance. It is impossible to even go for walks because of them," he said.

The MNF, in a press statement, urged the ruling Congress party of the state led by chief minister Lal Thanhawla to pressurize the Punjab Congress legislator to immediately apologize to the people of the northeast. The party regarded the resolution of the MLA as well as his statement in the Punjab legislature as an insult to not only the people of Mizoram and Nagaland but the entire northeast.

"Some Mizos eat dog meat, but not the meat of stray dogs," the statement said, adding that the Congress legislator's insulting remarks might have stemmed from Lal Thanhawla's statement during the recent Aizawl municipal council polls, where he called the opposition party workers 'Uitang rual' meaning stray dogs.

"The Congress party, which was also in power at the Centre in the 1960s, claimed that the Indian Air Force was only dropping food to the people of Mizoram, while in reality they were dropping bombs to kill innocent people," the statement alleged. The MNF added that the national party always insults the Mizo people and disseminates wrong information about the northeast.

The MNF statement also slammed the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), especially its chief Lal Thanhawla for remaining silent in the issue and thus, "concurring with the Punjab MLA".

"While the statement of the Punjab Congress legislator drew flaks from across the country, Lal Thanhawla and the MPCC remained silent and unmoved, leading to the belief that the Congress units in Mizoram and Punjab have a hidden agenda to insult the sentiments of the people of the northeast," the statement added.