By Matters India Reporter
Bhopal, Dec. 16, 2018: A Catholic priest has protested the use of Christian religious activities at the oath ceremony of the new government of Mizoram.
Such a practice “is not in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution,” asserts Father Anand Muttungal, national coordinator of the Rashtriya Isai Maha Sangh (grand national assembly of Christians), an ecumenical body.
The Bhopal-based priest was reacting to the news about the use of Christian prayers and hymns at the swearing ceremony of the Mizo National Front (MNF) government on December 15.
Mizoram Governor K. Rajasekharan, a former rightwing Hindu leader from Kerala, administered the oath of office to MNF president Zoramthanga and ten en other ministers. Zoramthanga is Mizoram’s tenth chief minister.
The MNF wrested power from a ten-year-old Congress government by winning 26 of the 40 assembly seats. Since its formation as a political party in 1986, MNF has succeeded first time in cornering so many seats in the state assembly.
News reports said during the swearing-in ceremony, the national anthem was played followed by a round of readings from the Bible and hymns sung by children. A prayer was led by Reverend Lalmingthanga, the chairman of the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee, the body of 16 major Churches in the state.
This is for the first time prayers were conducted in a swearing in ceremony. The Church had backed the MNF in the assembly polls.
“Dear members of the Mizo National Front, it is very sad to note that you have decided to use Christian religious activities as part of constituting a government in Mizoram,” Father Muttungal said in an open letter a day before the oath ceremony.
The priest, who is involved in interfaith activities, urged the MNF leaders to avoid holding Christian prayers during the constitutional duty. “But after that you are free to publicly express your faith like other political leaders by going to a temple or any religious place,” he added.
Apart from readings of biblical verses, religious hymns like Handel’s famed ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ sang to mark the occasion. “We are doing it for the first time,” Lalruatkima, a newly-elected MNF legislator, said, on December 13.
MNF is known for its close association with the Church. Christians form 97 percent of the state’s population.
The 40-member assembly has 26 legislators from MNF, eight from Zoram People’s Movement and five from Congress. It also has its first legislator from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Buddha Dhan Chakma, a Buddhist who contested from Tuichawng.
The MNF had accepted the Church’s demand and made the poll promise of revoking the previous government’s order for sale and consumption of alcohol in the state.
The MNF, a part of the BJP’s North East Democratic Alliance, reportedly kept the pro-Hindu party out of its government keeping the Church’s sentiments in mind.