DIMAPUR, Dec 7: The Rising Peoples Party (RPP) said recently that it was deeply concerned by the recent deportation of Pastor John Roughton of the Spirit of Faith Church, Dimapur, also an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), despite no prior issues with his stay or activities over the past 30 years.
“Pastor Roughton is a deeply entrenched member of our community, and there has never been any indication that he posed a threat to the integrity of India nor was he in violation of any regulations as an OCI. To send him back to the United States without clear justification is both unfair and disheartening,” the Nagaland based political party said in a statement. It also said this “unexpected and distressing event” has left the Christians in the state devastated, “and perhaps the only line of conclusion is that Pastor Roughton was deported only because of his pastoral activities”.
The RPP then strongly urged the Government of Nagaland to quickly intervene with the relevant authorities considering Pastor Roughton and his wife Zhepitoli Zhimomi’s standing as “good citizens and their invaluable contributions” to the Christian community over the decades.
“We believe that this act of deportation by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in New Delhi is not only a grave oversight but it also undermines the secular underpinnings of this country,” it added.
The RPP then called upon the people of Nagaland to show solidarity with the persecuted Roughtons. “Today the Roughtons are facing the brunt of a majoritarian policy, tomorrow the same policy may cast a long shadow over the entire state,” the RPP cautioned. (NNN)
