Chumoukedima, Nagaland, September 10 (HBTV): The Nationalist Democratic progressive party (NDPP) has asked the organizers of the “Gau Dhwaj Yatar” — a campaign to promote elevation of the cow, revered by Hindus as ‘mother’, and to stop cow slaughter in India — to reconsider its proposal to hold a program in Nagaland.   

The NDPP, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Nagaland government, issued a press statement on Tuesday asking the government of Nagaland to intervene at the earliest so that the social harmony is not be disturbed.       

The event is reportedly to be conducted on September 28 in Kohima. 

‘Article 371A of the Constitution of India protects the religious and social practices of the Nagas and the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and the government of Nagaland have decided not to implement the Ban on Cow Slaughter Act 2019 based on the constitutional provisions of Article 371A,’ the NDPP reminded.   

The decision of the assembly the government still stands, the NDPP stated. A program that is organized to promote ban on cow slaughter may hurt the sentiments of the Naga people and may also affect the socio-religious harmony prevailing in the state, the party stated.

‘The NDPP respects the social and religious beliefs of each and every citizen of this diverse nation we belong to and the NDPP also expects that the religious and social practices of the Naga people must also be similarly respected by others,' the party stated.  

‘To organize such as event as announced would go against the sentiments of the majority of the people of the state and will also be undermining the powers conferred upon the state legislature and the state government by the Constitution of India,’ the NDPP stated.