Tripura: Christians criticise decision to conduct ADC Polls on Easter Sunday
AGARTALA:
The Christian community in Tripura has expressed displeasure over the State Election Commission’s (SEC) decision to conduct the polls for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) election on April 4, which coincides with Easter Sunday.
Political leaders and various church groups also criticised the move to conduct polls on Easter Sunday.
“Representatives of the Christian community met on Wednesday and expressed their disappointment and shock at the date of the General Elections to TTAADC, announced on March 2,” said a spokesperson of the Diocese of Agartala.
Following the announcement, the leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and former MP Jitendra Choudhury came down heavily on the SEC.
“India is a secular country; we respect all faiths with equal dignity. Easter Sunday is a very special day for Christians. The State Election Commission should not have chosen the date for ADC polling,” Choudhury posted on Facebook.
“There is a large Christian population in Tripura and keeping this in mind, the state election commission should not have chosen April 4 as the day of ADC election because it will affect the turn-out of voters belonging to the Christian faith,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Agartala Diocese Fr Lumen Monterio sent a letter to the State Election Commissioner of Tripura and urged him to look into the matter.
(Edited by Gabriel G Momin)
