The Khasi Jaintia Christian Leaders Forum (KJCLF) today urged voters to diligently exercise their franchise with sincerity and a clear conscience in the Assembly election on February 27.
The forum also condemned the alleged misuse of the gospel song ‘I have decided to follow Jesus’ by members of the National People’s Party (NPP).
KJCLF Secretary Rev EH Kharkongor stated that this “insulting and insensitive” act calls into question the maturity and integrity of the candidate and his party but it is for the electorate to decide whether this is acceptable or not.
Recently, an FIR was registered against a leader of the NPP from Williamnagar for distorting the song in question by replacing the word ‘Jesus’ with ‘NPP’.
“As ordinary citizens of the state we all share in the quinquennial cycle of criticisms and appreciations, charges and counter-charges, evaluations and aspirations to do better and so on,” Rev Kharkongor said. “Manifestos are proposed in speech, skits and occasional creative tunes but more often in clamouring dins exceeding the decibels which can be tolerated by us ordinary mortals in our communities.”
He added that, however, when matters concerning personal sentiments of individual citizens are touched on, they need to be questioned and checked.
“This is with the full knowledge that the people will vote for a new government that will be committed to the welfare and future of the people without any prejudice or bias in promoting peace and harmony,” the KJCLF secretary said.
