We are with BJP Nagaland president, says women’s wing

Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 6 (EMN): Amid demands made by some members to replace the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nagaland president Temjen Imna Along, president of the state’s Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha (BJMM), Phangnon Konyak said on Saturday that the women’s wing supports the incumbent party chief, while accusing some individuals of wrongly using its nomenclature.

Speaking to journalists at the party’s head office in Kohima, Konyak said ‘the usage of state BJP Mahila Morcha nomenclature by 17 individuals, who sought replacement of the state’s party chief, was “unauthorised” and ‘the views expressed by them are their own personal opinion’.

Konyak was reacting to the allegations levelled at Along, who is also the minister of Higher Education and Tribal Affairs, by some senior mahilas on behalf of BJMM on Friday through a press release.

Maintaining that the BJP Mahila Morcha, with its state, district and mandal units, is ‘intact’, she said the women’s wing ‘fully endorses the leadership of the incumbent BJP Nagaland president’ and works in ‘good coordination’ with him.

 ‘We are here as per the constitution of the party, which has a fixed term or tenure and we will serve our term,’ she said, adding that ‘no post was permanent’.

On the accusation levelled at Along for the defeat of the 60-Pungro-Kiphire assembly constituency bye-election held in November last year, Konyak said: “What happened was the party failed as a whole; the party has system so our candidate did not win, so the responsibility does not go to one person, the party as a whole we tried our best and it is the manner of election that someone will win and some loss. So we cannot take it as a failure of one person (sic).”

No ‘one person one post’ policy

BJMM president also clarified that ‘nowhere in the constitution of the party is one person one post written’, while citing the chief minister of Tripura, who is also the state’s BJP president; BJP National state spokesperson Mmhonlumo Kikon, who is also the advisor of IT, Science and Technology and NRE in the present PDA government; and other party functionaries.

The dual post depends on the capability of a person to take responsibility and the question of ‘one person one post’ does not arise in the party, Konyak said, adding that the BJMM is with Along.

“The party, as per the constitution, will take steps against those individuals,” the president said without mentioning the nature of steps to be taken.