New Delhi: Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla, who is contesting from two seats, could not file his nomination papers in Serchhip as agitators demanding the removal of the state chief electoral officer (CEO) continued their picketing in front of the office of the returning officer.
Additional deputy commissioner Chuauhnuna told PTI that the chief minister had to change his plan to file nomination in his home turf on Tuesday considering the situation around the deputy commissioner’s office which also houses the office of the returning officer. Chuauhnuna said Lal Thanhawla was not forced by anybody to not file his documents. It was the latter’s choice, he added.
Several NGOs have been demanding the removal of CEO S.B. Shashank for his alleged bias for ‘Bru’ voters and removal of principal secretary (Home) Lalnunmawia Chuaung, a native of the state. Earlier on Monday, chief minister Lal Thanhawla had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “as people have lost faith in him, the only solution for smooth conduct of the Assembly elections 2018 would be the removal of CEO S.B. Shashank from office forthwith.”
Mizoram chief electoral officer (CEO) S.B. Shashank, whose removal has been demanded by the chief minister and several NGOs, said he would leave for New Delhi on Wednesday after being summoned by the Election Commission. Shashank said he would meet the poll panel Thursday in the national capital.
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Meanwhile, hundreds of members of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) continued their picketing in front of the CEO’s office from 8 am. The chairman of the NGO Coordination Committee, Vanlalruata, said the picketing would be called off only after Shashank’s departure.
The meeting of a visiting Election Commission team, state government officials and leaders of the NGO Coordination Committee on the current standoff on Tuesday night remained inconclusive as the EC team said that the final call would be made by the commission. The team members said that they would submit their findings to the commission.
Vanlalruata said that Shashank should be transferred from Mizoram and the Bru voters in the Tripura relief camps should exercise their franchise in their respective polling stations in Mizoram. Thousands of people from the Bru community fled Mizoram in the late 1990s following ethnic clashes. They have been lodged in relief camps in Tripura.
The agitators are also protesting the removal of the state’s principal secretary (Home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo, a native of the state and Gujarat-cadre IAS officer. The state observed a bandh Tuesday in response to a call by the Mizoram Merchants’ Association (MiMA) to extend support to the agitation.
The chief minister Wednesday left Serchhip town to campaign in Champhai South constituency where he is also contesting, officials said.
The last date for filing of nomination papers is November 9. The tenure of the present 40-member Assembly in Mizoram, the only Congress-ruled state in the north eastern region, expires on December 15.
Election to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly is scheduled for November 28.
(With inputs from PTI)