SHILLONG, MAR 21: Opposition Congress chief and Shillong MP Vincent H Pala on Thursday castigated the Voice of the People Party (VPP) for attacking church leaders and elders alleging that they distribute liquor during elections.
Speaking to reporters, Pala demanded the VPP to have the courage and identify the church leader involved in such acts instead of painting the entire church with the same brush.
He said, “It is very unfortunate that the VPP started attacking the church leaders. It takes years to be a tymmen basan (church elder) as it takes a lot of exercise for the people in the village or for a church to identify who should be a tymmen basan. I think if the VPP is courageous enough, they should identify who is that fellow, who has done so that the church can take actions. Simply saying the pastors, fathers or tymmen basan are involved (is not fair). It is very easy to blame as this has been designed by certain people. First, they will attack the parties and then they will attack the church and (pretent) as if they are the only holiest party and the rest are all crooks. So it is not fair as the public will know.”
“If the church is weak, the society is weak. If the church is strong, the society is strong. If the leaders are strong, the church is strong, if workers are strong, the society is strong,” he said.
“So it is very important for the VPP to identify who is the real tymmen basan, who has done this and why he has done this otherwise to blame the entire church, to paint the entire church as drunkards, to paint the entire church as distributing liquors is not fair, it is totally wrong. I personally feel that the VPP should apologize to the church otherwise unnecessary taking the entire church will damage the reputation of the church not only in Meghalaya but the entire country. It is wrong. I think loose talks should stop as it is misleading the people,” the MP added.
Asked, the Congress chief said the VPP and BJP are sharing the same ideologies to weaken the church, society and political parties.
“The BJP normally attacks the political parties and then attacks different religious institutions be it Christians, be it Muslims, so the BJP’s vote bank would be to make a division between Hindu and Muslim or Christian and non-Christian or different sections of the people, sometimes like we have Assam and Meghalaya. You have seen what happened after BJP same happened in Manipur where there is no religion they will try to divide amongst the people amongst the tribe,” Pala said.
“Wherever they get a chance they will divide amongst the people speaking different languages. So the VPP also are in the same line. They attack all parties that all parties are chore (thieves) and only they are holiest. Now, they start attacking church people also that they are not doing their jobs as church leaders rather they are involved in politics by distributing liquor. In that line, they systematically try to weaken the church, weaken the society, weaken the other political parties and they are the only party, which is correct and which has done the job for the people,” the Shillong MP added.
“BJP is also doing the same thing, systematically working a programme, analysing what people want and talk about what people love. I think you are hundred percent (right) that BJP and VPP are in the same line of ideology. According to them, they will try to attack all parties and then attack the church, and society. That is why they have done it systematically in line with the BJP which is also doing the same thing,” he said.