South Tura: The AITC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee addressed a public rally on Wednesday evening after a padyatra that started from the Hawakhana Petrol Pump and ended at Tura Bazar.
He urged the people to carefully consider their choice between a true leader and a shameless puppet on February 27 and to vote for their own better future.
While addressing the crowd in Tura Bazar, Banerjee stated that if TMC is voted to power, they will implement the MYE Card and WE Card schemes, and provide monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to all unemployed youth.
He also promised that women would no longer have to ask for help, as the WE Card Scheme would be passed in the first cabinet meeting and ensure that the woman member of every household receives financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month and Rs 12,000 annually. Banerjee received thunderous applause as he promised to implement all ten of their pledges within three months of coming to power.
Banerjee pointed out that while passing by the district collectorate, treasury office, DIG office, and Tura police station, he noticed that these stretches were dark as there were no streetlights on either side of the road. He then questioned, “If the Chief Minister cannot bring light to his own constituency, how can he bring development to the state?”
Several leaders attended the event, including Trinamool Congress Legislature Party Leader and Leader of Opposition Dr Mukul Sangma, State In-Charge Dr Manas Ranjan Bhunia, Meghalaya TMC candidates from South Tura and North Tura, Richard M Marak and Rupert M Sangma, respectively, Meghalaya TMC candidate and MLA from Chokpot Lazarus M Sangma, Meghalaya TMC State Mahila President Selma D Shira, and Meghalaya TMC State General Secretary Mukul Das, among others.
Dr Mukul Sangma, the Meghalaya TMC Legislature Party Leader, criticized the MDA Government for its inability to create employment opportunities for the youth. He stated that the youth have been deceived and robbed of their opportunities, and further added that the government has failed to fill any government-sanctioned vacancies over the last five years, causing intense distress among the youth of Meghalaya.
Dr Sangma criticized the MDA-Himanta Biswa Sarma nexus and the ongoing Assam-Meghalaya border issue, stating that Assam’s Chief Minister imposed the MoU, which the Meghalaya CM signed, despite it being unacceptable to the people of the state. He warned that if the government is run by those in power in Assam and Delhi, Meghalaya’s hard-earned statehood will become futile.
Banerjee, on the other hand, slammed the malicious propaganda being spread against Trinamool Congress by other parties. “Just six months ago, these parties claimed that TMC has no base in the state, but now, their speeches, tweets, and statements revolve around attacking TMC, revealing their confusion and desperation,” he said.
As a result of the padyatra organized by AITC and other Meghalaya TMC party leaders, a massive traffic jam — an uncommon sight in the area — was faced by commuters, which lasted for several hours.
The AITC supporters had assembled for a couple of hours before the start of the padyatra at the Hawakhana petrol pump in Tura. Due to the procession, people were stuck in traffic from Hawakhana, Babupara to Tura Bazar, along with their private and commercial vehicles.
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While stuck in the traffic jam near Babupara, an auto-rickshaw driver expressed his frustration, saying, “My auto-rickshaw was full of passengers, but they all got down before reaching Babupara due to the traffic jam. They were heading to Tura Bazar, but they chose to walk the rest of the way to their destination. As a result, I lost half of my fare.”
Another driver, who was driving an ambulance from Tura Civil Hospital, also got stuck in a traffic jam. He mentioned that luckily, there were no patients in his ambulance at the time.
The election procession culminated at Tura Bazar, where a public meeting was addressed.
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