Aizawl, April 11: Candidates for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram slugged it out in a debate here yesterday. While the main contestants focused on secularism and religion, the third raised the question of Mizo sovereignty.

The three candidates also faced a volley of questions in the debate organised by the Mizoram Journalists’ Association at Vanapa Hall here.

The three candidates, Vanlalzawma from the ruling Mizo National Front, Laltluangliana Khiangte of the Opposition’s Mizoram Secular Force and H. Tlangdingliana from the little-known Ephraim Union Party, were each given 15 minutes at the beginning of the debate to say whatever they liked.

The second round saw them answering three common questions while in the third part of the debate, that lasted two hours, each candidate was given five questions to answer from a set of 15 previously prepared questions. The five queries were drawn by lottery.

In the free speech section, the Opposition candidate attacked the BJP and its allies as leaning towards communalism and of having a hidden agenda.

This forced Vanlalzawma, the MNF candidate, to use most of his speech in defending the MNF, which recently joined the National Democratic Alliance.

He projected the NDA as a secular force, which had not allowed Hindu extremists to have their way. To buttress his point, he pointed out that NDA convener George Fernandes was a Christian.

H. Tlangdingliana, going off on a different track, said an MP was needed who realises that the state of Mizoram was forcibly created by the British and the Indian government and that an MP on the right path could do much towards ensuring the state achieves the sovereignty it had before the British arrived here.

He was of the opinion that India should have let go of Mizoram 10 years after Independence in accordance with the agreement signed by the erstwhile Mizo Union.

Saturday’s debate could be classified into two categories: Christianity versus Hindutva and the past demand of being an independent entity.

Khiangte, who said secularism was needed in the country, argued the necessity of protecting Christianity and exposing the hidden agenda of BJP subsidiaries such as the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. He quoted media reports over the sangh parivar’s alleged agenda.

Speaking of opinion polls, in which most had predicted that the BJP-led NDA government would come back to power at the Centre, Vanlalzawma urged the people to vote for the winners since much more would be achieved by those in power than by those who are not in power.

Tlangdingliana went off on a totally different track from his adversaries and played on the sentiments of people seeking independence, which the MNF had fought for during an armed uprising in 1966.

He said the first Mizo political party, the Mizo Union, had signed an agreement in 1947 to be a part of India for 10 years. However, after the period had elapsed, India would not let go of the then district of Assam.

“Since Laldenga (the MNF’s founder and leader of the uprising) could not achieve his goals, other means need to be explored,” he argued.