''During these 125 years, the Indian National Congress has made immense contribution to India, therefore India and Congress have become indispensable. Being the only secular party in India, Congress is also the right party for us as Christians,'' the state Congress chief said at a celebration of 125 years of INC at Congress Bhavan here today.
The four-time Chief Minister claimed that his ministry, during the last two years did more than what the previous (Mizo National Front) ministry did in ten years in terms of development. This, he claimed, was because of 'Gods help' and urged the Congress workers to thank the Almighty.
''We have accepted that we (the Congress government) are Gods answer to the peoples prayer for clean, righteous and uncorrupt administration. At the same time, we also accept that we are not as holy as angels. We are after all humans and not error-free, therefore we have to be forgiven for whatever mistakes we have made,'' he said. On allegations levelled against his party, Lal Thanhawla said such allegations made the party stronger. ''We should reconstruct ourselves from such attacks,'' he urged the partymen. The Chief Minister claimed that there have been no allegations on corruption and injustices. ''The shortage of essential commodities due to roadblocks and railroads disruption caused by heavy rains was not our fault. They were unforeseen incidents on which we had no control,'' he stated.
Regretting that development projects initiated by his government 'did not get enough publicity,' Mr Lal Thanhawla blamed this to limited capacity of the local media. ''They (the media) have not been able to highlight all the development projects,'' he said.
Reiterating that his governments flagship project New Land Use Policy (NLUP) is making headway, Lal Thanhawla used his favourite metaphor: ''A marching elephant would not be stopped by barking dogs.'' During the ceremony, MPCC treasurer and Minister H Liansailova distributed prizes of essay competition organised to mark the 125th anniversary of Indian National Congress. Lal Thanhawla and P C Sapnela were also given veteran Congressman awards.