Kohima: With five days to go before the assembly election, Bishop James Thoppil of Kohima, has urged the people of the state to maintain peace and abjure all forms of violence and aggressive campaigning. The Baptist-dominated state has around 60,000 people from the Catholic community.
“The church does not tell people whom to vote for, nor does it endorse an official list of candidates, or say which party one should join,” the bishop said.
The bishop added that voting for money or material gains, proxy voting, exerting force, fraud or inducement for voting for a particular candidate are acts contrary to Christian values and principles.
Refuting allegations that the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has directed people to vote for certain candidates,Bishop Thoppil said, “The NBCC only pleads to the conscience of the voters to not be swayed by ill-motives. At a time such as this, the NBCC wants to see a clean election where votes are cast on the basis of rightfulness and without influence.”
(The Times of India)