Clean election campaign is apolitical: NBCC

[caption id="attachment_113010" align="alignnone" width="565"] NBCC Clean Election Core Committee members and participants pose for a group photo after the state level seminar on clean elections at Kohima on Wednesday.[/caption]   Kohima, May 3 (EMN): Ever since the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) first initiated the Clean Election Campaign (CEC) in the year 2012 ahead of the 2013 Assembly polls, there has been mixed reaction of both appreciation and criticism from the people of the state. While certain section of the people believe it as a ‘good initiation and see hope in the movement’, some section of people out-rightly opined that the church should not involve itself in the affairs of politics. Making its stand clear on the clean election movement during the state level seminar on clean election organised by the Clean Election Core Committee of NBCC at Platinum Hall, NBCC HQ office, Kohima, the general secretary of NBCC, Rev Dr Zelhou Keyho said ‘the church is not into playing politics through this movement as some have opined.’ Clean election movement, he said is an apolitical campaign and NBCC as a church body is neither against election, politicians, political parties nor is influenced by any political agenda within or without. As anyone else, Rev Keyho maintained that it is deeply concerned with the electioneering system that has gone corrupt in our state, seemingly affecting every system of our existence, and hence it has taken up this movement against the system that has gone awry and ‘to do just what is right and what it meant to be’. He went to state that the intent of the church was not to point fingers at any individual or party, but to educate and speak against the corrupt system of election in our state and appeal to the conscience of the public to use their ‘God-given birthright’ without monetary or any other means of influence to overrule -God-given wisdom and conscience’ to distinguish what is right and what is wrong. Rev Keyho said NBCC is clear that it has taken upon clean election campaign as its spiritual responsibility ‘to be prophetic and stand against any form of evil and corrupt practices’ so that ‘holiness is not only talked in the church but lived in the public square in spirit and in deeds.’ Stating that it is important for NBCC at this juncture to define itself while gearing up for the continued campaign on which it has set her foot on, Rev Keyho strongly asserted that the church as a religious body must remain that way without influence or setting any political agenda, or be influenced by the political agenda and ideologies with vested interest of any political party. Not denying the fact that the task ahead is not going to be an easy one where lecturing is not enough, Rev Keyho proposed to initiate a disciplinary committee that will ‘biblically, theologically, and ethically empower the church’ to execute actions that are suitable to those who violate the CEC ‘code of conduct’ initiated by NBCC. However, he also pointed that CEC should not be used to oppose any particular politician whereby the church cannot define ‘who should and who should not’ contest the elections. CEC, he maintained is not a license for a community/village to select a particular candidate over the other, rather, it is to allow individuals to vote freely based on his/her conscience without any influence from anybody, be it politician/village authority and any other. While stating that the church alone cannot do the job, Rev Keyho said it must be open to those who are willing to join the fight ‘without allowing them to hijack the CEC to their own interest and selfish gains’ and by giving them spiritual guidance of dos and don'ts. Expressing serious concern over the ‘evil practices during election in our given context’, Rev Keyho observed that these are not only confined to the election day but has become like gangrene that keeps on going deeper and wider to a situation where it has permeated every aspect of our existence, in the individual and corporate life as well. Hence, he asserted that mere talks and paper works will not work unless ‘we stamp our feet it will not work.’