By Felix Anthony

Agartala: Christians in the northeastern Indian state of Tripura have expressed disappointment over scheduling an election on Easter Sunday.

“Scheduling the election on the Universal Festival of Easter, which is a weeklong obligatory observance of faith for all Christians around the world, will not only make the Christian voters unable to participate in the electoral process, it will also hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community,” says a statement from Bishop Lumen Monteiro of Agartala.

The diocese covers the entire Tripura state which is holding election for the Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) 2021 on April 4, Easter Sunday.

In a letter addressed to the state Election Commissioner, the Holy Cross prelate expressed concern of the Christian community regarding the election date coinciding with the Easter Sunday.

The TTAADC is an autonomous district council administering the indigenous tribal dominated areas of the Tripura. Nearly 68 percent the state’s total area falls under the purview of TTAADC, which is mostly covered by hilly forest.

Bishop Monteiro has appealed to the state Election Commission for rescheduling the date of polling to enable all the people to exercise their voting rights and to be able to fulfill their faith obligations as citizens.

A copy of the letter has been marked for the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Chief Secretary of the Tripura government and the Chief Election Officer of TTAADC.

A press statement from Father Joseph Pulinthanath, the spokesperson of the Agartala Diocese, states that Christians in the state were disappointed and shocked at the date of the elections that was announced on March 2.

Earlier on March 1, the Election Commission of India rejected a request from the All India Catholic Union (AICU) to change the election date in West Bengal and Assam scheduled for Maundy Thursday.

The union had urged the commission to the shift the April 1 polls to another date.

The commission said the date change was not possible as it has made all the necessary arrangements.

The eight-phase voting for the West Bengal assembly will begin March 27.

Besides Assam and West Bengals, assembly elections are scheduled on April 6 for Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The results will be announced on May 2.