The pledge of allegiance was headed by former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh
Congress candidates for the Manipur assembly election visited major religious places in the state today. Reason: a loyalty oath. The candidates first visited Kangla Fort in Imphal to take the pledge of allegiance, then they visited a church, a temple, a mosque and then a temple again.
The pledge of allegiance was headed by former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh along with party's state unit in-charge Bhakta Charan Das.
This comes weeks after Congress candidates for the Goa assembly election went through the same process.
Mr Ibobi Singh, while talking to media persons at Kangla Fort, said, Congress party believes in the secular fabric of the country, which is why the party decided to take pledge in all the major religious places of different communities in the state. The candidates took pledge that they will not defect to other political parties after they get elected from Congress party. They also took pledge that they will abide by the rules and regulations of the party.
The move is significant as many Congress MLAs had defected to the BJP after the 2017 elections.
Mr Das said that the mandate of the people of Manipur should be well-respected by every political parties. "In 2017 polls, some of their MLAs have defected and disrespected the mandate of the people. And BJP since they came to power have adopted all mala fide means to divide the Congress," Bhakta Charan Das added.
He further said that the BJP came to power not by the mandate of the people but by artificial means that is why this pledge is required to respect the mandate of the people of Manipur. He also said JD(U) was not in the scene in the state, however, after its entry, the BJP is using it to divide the Congress party.