Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Friday that Article 371G of the Indian Constitution, which protects the Mizo way of life, was “under threat today” while hitting out at the BJP in poll-bound Mizoram.

Article 371G states that no act of Parliament in respect to religious or social practices of the Mizos, Mizo customary law, administration of civil and criminal justice, ownership and transfer of land, “shall apply to the State of Mizoram unless the Legislative Assembly of the State of Mizoram by a resolution so decides”.

At a press meet in Aizawl, Ramesh said: “A government and a party that removed Article 370 can also remove 371G. It was inserted in February 1987 into the Constitution when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister as a special provision to protect the Mizo way of life.”

Ramesh added: “It is the greatest contribution of the Indian National Congress to Mizoram that is under threat today. It is only the hand of sensitivity that understands the aspirations of the Northeast whereas the BJP is the party that wants One nation; One language; One nation; One culture; One nation; One religion; and One nation; One party; is the BJP’s policy.”

The BJP-led central government had on August 5, 2019, scrapped Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The scrapping of J&K’s special status had fuelled fear among six of the eight Northeastern states, including Mizoram, about the possible revocation of Article 371 (A to J) in the future. The article provides special constitutional protection to these states.

The Law Commission’s move to seek views on the uniform civil code (UCC) from stakeholders in June revived apprehension over Article 371 in the Northeast which is known for its religious and cultural diversity. Mizoram is a Christian-majority state.

In fact, the Mizoram state Assembly had earlier in the year (February 14) adopted a unanimous resolution opposing any attempt to implement the UCC as it “would disintegrate the country....” The UCC is a common set of laws applicable to all citizens irrespective of religion, dealing, among others, with issues related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

Ramesh asserted the November 7 Assembly election is “essentially a three-horse race” involving the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and the Opposition Congress and Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM). All three parties have fielded candidates in all 40 seats.

He then targeted the BJP, just as Rahul Gandhi had done during his two-day visit to the state earlier this month to mobilise support for the Congress. “There is a ghost party, the BJP. The power of the ghost over the other two parties, the ZPM and MNF is well known to everyone as they are the gateway for BJP to enter Mizoram.... The strategy of the BJP all over the Northeast is to use regional parties to grab power. They did it in Arunachal, Meghalaya, Manipur, and now they are trying to do the same in Mizoram.”