Shillong: The National People’s Party (NPP), the ruling party of Meghalaya, has urged the Centre to review its reported denial of an entry visa to US evangelist Rev Franklin Graham, whose Nov 30 event at Kohima in Nagaland was cancelled over “visa-related issues”.In a letter to the Centre, NPP national working president James PK Sangma said the event’s organiser, the Kohima Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship, was disappointed as thousands of people had prepared to attend the preacher’s programme at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima.He said Nagaland shares a long association with the Graham family, recalling Rev Billy Graham’s visit to the state in 1972, and noted that the evangelist’s proposed visit was seen as a moment of “spiritual renewal” for the Christians across the northeastern region.Sangma said church leaders and civil society groups had conveyed their anguish to the NPP, warning that the perception of a peaceful religious event being blocked over visa issues could create “misunderstanding and alienation” in a predominantly Christian region. PTI
