Guwahati: Opposition parties are upping the ante in poll-bound Meghalaya, going hammer and tongs at the incumbent NPP-led MDA government, while promising development, scheme money and jobs to the people of the state.
Union home minister Amit Shah addressed a series of public meetings in Garo Hills since Thursday, lambasting the present and former chief ministers from the region “for not doing much” for bringing development across sectors in Garo Hills.
He also warned of conducting a probe by a retired Supreme Court judge into the corruption allegations against the incumbent government if the BJP is voted to power in Meghalaya.
Speaking at a public meeting at the Dalu Assembly constituency of West Garo Hills along the country’s border with Bangladesh, Shah said despite the Sangmas, Mukul and Conrad, leading the government in the past tenures, the state has not seen any development.
“In Meghalaya, the Sangmas have ruled the state. But there has been no development. So what did they do all these years? It is time to free the state from corruption so that the money sent under central schemes reaches the poor people,” he said.
Referring to the development in neighbouring Assam over the past seven years under BJP, Shah said such progress in that state has been achieved owing to central schemes.
“Schemes for Meghalaya have been sanctioned by the Centre but the Conrad Sangma-led MDA government has not ensured that they reach the common man. Money from the Centre has come to the state over the years but the beneficiaries have not been able to avail of them owing to corruption. So, if the BJP is voted to power in Meghalaya, the first thing we will do is to institute a probe under a retired judge of the Supreme Court,” the home minister said.
Taking potshots at the NPP government, Shah compared the incumbent government in Meghalaya to a “burnt transformer” which “needed to be replaced with a new one.”
“So, it’s time to change the government and vote for BJP. Then only the schemes will reach the people. Poor people will get the right amount of rice along with dal, oil and sugar. They will get homes and toilets, free health facilities and LPG cylinders,” he assured.
Shah further promised that jobs would be given to the unemployed in a transparent manner. “Do you get government jobs in Meghalaya without giving bribes?” he asked while adding that in Assam, Manipur and Tripura, government jobs have been given in a transparent way.
“Besides, the road work from national highways to the interior areas has remained shoddy in the state because of corruption, which has to be weeded out,” he said.
“The Sangmas have all these years been voted to power by the people of Garo Hills but have they done anything for the people of this region,” he further asked.
On February 16, Shah addressed a rally in Tura and termed Meghalaya one of the most corrupt states in the country. Earlier on Friday, he addressed a public meeting in Garobadha.
Notably, this is the first time that a union home minister had stayed overnight in Garo Hills.
In regard to education, Shah said that if the BJP comes to power it will ensure that primary and secondary school students are taught in the local language.
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was also present at the rallies in Garobadha and Dalu, said it was time the people of Meghalaya elected a people’s leader. “For five years, the candidates haven’t come to meet people. They come only before an election…but BJP will meet people before and after an election,” he said.
“All these years, the governance was all from the Sangma families. The leaders are hardly accessible to the people nor are the schemes for the poor. There is no widow pension, old age pension or good roads,” Sarma said at the public meeting in Dalu.
On the other hand, after traversing the remotest corners of the state taking Trinamool Congress’ vision to the people and addressing public meetings in South Tura, Ampati, and Williamnagar amid thousands of supporters, AITC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday interacted with the people of Shillong and assured them of a better future under Meghalaya TMC.
In a massive show of strength, a sea of supporters descended at the Police Bazaar area on Friday evening to lend support to Meghalaya TMC and its candidates, who were also present at the public meeting.
Elaborating on the five years of the MDA government and its corrupt practices, Banerjee urged the people of the state to teach them a lesson on February 27. “This is not just a vote to elect. It is a vote to reject, protest, and punish the culprits. It is a vote to hold perpetrators to the book for selling their spines to those sitting in Delhi and for playing with people’s love and faith,” he said.
The AITC leader has been visiting the remotest corners to interact with the people and share the Meghalaya TMC’s vision incorporated in the party’s 10 pledges for Meghalaya.
Reiterating his pledge and commitment to the state, Banerjee also assured that if voted to power, the Meghalaya TMC would ensure that their flagship initiatives – WE Card and MYE Card Scheme – are implemented within the first month of coming to power.
“The results will be declared on March 2 and it is my commitment that within April 2, the woman member of every household will get Rs 1,000 per month (Rs 12,000 annually)….I give my word that within one month of forming the government, the unemployed youth will receive Rs 1,000 per month in their bank accounts (Rs 12,000 annually),” he promised.
He also said that the registration numbers for the MYE Card Scheme show that the Conrad Sangma-led MDA government has completely failed in creating job opportunities for the youth in the state.
“Conrad Sangma claims that Meghalaya has the lowest unemployment rate. But when Trinamool Congress launched Meghalaya TMC’s MYE card scheme, over four lakh unemployed youth registered for it. That is a testament to the fact that unemployment is highest in the state and the youth are being deprived of their rights,” he said, tearing into the false claims made by the NPP.
Slamming the Conrad Sangma-led MDA government for cowering down to the people in Delhi and Guwahati fearing action from central investigative agencies, Abhishek Banerjee said, “Would Conrad Sangma have the courage and spine to say that Meghalaya will be ruled by Meghalaya? The moment he does this, ED and CBI will send him a notice the very next day. They have sent me dozens of notices but that won’t stop Trinamool Congress from fighting for people.”
Addressing the crowd in Williamnagar on Thursday, Banerjee also shared how Trinamool Congress is the only party that raised Meghalaya’s issues and demands in the Parliament.
“In the past one year, TMC has protested both inside and outside Parliament multiple times demanding the inclusion of Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. And we will continue the fight till the end,” he said.
Dismissing the allegations raised by other parties against Meghalaya TMC’s vision, the AITC national general secretary said, “Few political leaders are claiming that these schemes are freebies. When the CM draws a salary or their telephone, electricity and water charges are all made free, those are not considered freebies. But when TMC wants to give something to common people and stand for their rights, NPP-BJP calls those pledges freebies.”
Highlighting the poor infrastructure in the state along with the startling lack of adequate education and employment opportunities, Banerjee further said, “The CM has surrendered to BJP leaders in Delhi and Guwahati. He cannot even put a 10W bulb on the roads (of his constituency, South Tura) and is running a remote-controlled government.”
“A government must be super-incompetent for failing to implement the schemes and projects, which were announced and started by Dr Mukul Sangma when he was the chief minister,” the TMC leader said.
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On the other hand, Congress’s Billykid A Sangma, who is contesting the North Tura seat this time, said he is confident that the people of Garo Hills are looking for the right candidate to implement the schemes.
Speaking to EastMojo, Sangma said the people of Meghalaya in general are looking for transformation and new leadership in the wake of anti-incumbency.
“The people I have met during my campaign so far have said that they wanted a change in the government. They want people-centric leaders. However, there has been an apparent lack of transparency in the implementation of central schemes over the past five years of the MDA government,” he said.
“The benefits of schemes sanctioned by the Centre for Meghalaya have not percolated to the common man. For my part, I have promised that if I win, the schemes will be implemented transparently,” he added.
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