Aizawl: Mizo National Front (MNF) has come out strongly against CM Lalduhoma over his recent comments on the 1986 Mizo Peace Accord and the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system, demanding a public apology and withdrawal of his statement.A joint meeting of the MNF Political Affairs Committee and the party’s legislature wing in Aizawl condemned the CM for allegedly “downplaying” the Memorandum of Settlement signed on June 30, 1986, between the then-underground MNF, the Centre and the Mizoram govt.According to reports, Lalduhoma told students at Mizoram Law College that the 1986 document was not an “accord” but a memorandum signed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and one political party, and not between the Govt of India and the Mizoram govt. He also said the Centre could scrap the ILP system without the consent of the Mizoram govt.The MNF alleged the remarks were against the interests of Mizoram and the Mizo people, particularly on political and religious safeguards. The party asked Lalduhoma to apologise publicly and withdraw the statement by Aug 15.“The MNF expresses its anguish over the narratives of the chief minister and will continue to oppose them,” the party said in a statement issued Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Mizoram Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (MPYCC) protested outside Vanapa Hall in Aizawl on Tuesday, displaying a picture of the chief minister wearing a skirt to portray him as a coward. In Mizo tradition, a woman’s skirt is thrown at a person deemed to have shown cowardice in hunting or battle.Addressing the protest, MPCC general secretary Rosiamngheta accused Lalduhoma of endangering the state’s political and religious safeguards while trying to appease the BJP-led NDA govt at the Centre. He said the chief minister was “not worthy of leading the people” and “deserves to wear a woman’s skirt for his cowardice.”
