Shillong, Feb 1: The Congress has accused the chief minister Conrad K Sangma of protecting corrupt people.
“Unfortunately the CM has misused this opportunity of serving the people of Meghalaya and instead is neck deep in corruption along with the MDA members,” AICC media coordinator Bobbeeta Sharma told reporters on Wednesday.
“It is also a matter of grave concern that the NPP has given ticket to an engineer who was responsible for the collapse of the assembly dome due to shoddy work. That shows that instead of punishing the culprit the MDA government is rewarding him. So it proves that they stand with corrupt people and are with corruption,” she said.
“Why did Ampareen Lyngdoh join NPP? Because she is under the scanner of the CBI! So now it is common knowledge that the NPP- led MDA Govt only protects tainted and corrupt people,” Sharma added.
She alleged that the NPP-led MDA government is taking the help of BJP to only get protection from corruption.
“The BJP is helping in giving that protection. So BJP and NPP are hand in glove to give protection for corruption and looting the people of Meghalaya,” she said.
Asserting that the people of Meghalaya will never accept the BJP because it is an outsider party, Sharma said, “NPP also should mind when they go to the BJP for protection against corruption they are actually also hand in glove with BJP which is an outsider party.”
CM questioning his own legacy
She criticised the CM for claiming that Meghalaya saw no development in last 45 years.
,“We want to ask the CM – is he also saying that when his father late Purno Sangma was an MP in 1970’s and in 1980 when he was also Union Minister during Indira Gandhiji’s time as PM- did he not do anything for Meghalaya?”
She added, “We want to ask Mr Sangma that when his father late Purno Sangma was CM of Meghalaya between 1988- 1990 didn’t Meghalaya see any development? Then again during late Rajiv Gandhiji’s time and again during Late Narasimha Raoji ‘s time Late Purno Sangma again served as Union Minister, did he not bring any development projects to Meghalaya? What is the message the CM is trying to give? That his father was a failure? That as a Congressman late Purno Sangma did not contribute anything for the development of Meghalaya in all these years?”
“By saying that Meghalaya did not see any development in the last 45 years he must remember that he not only discredited the work done by his father as well as the very existence of Meghalaya that was given statehood by none other than the Congress party in 1972,” she said.
The AICC media coordinator Mathew Anthony said that the Congress is the only alternative for the people of Meghalaya.
“There is an anti-incumbency wave which is there in the state and we just want to communicate that Congress is the only alternative for the people of Meghalaya at this juncture,” he said.
He said this is because the only binding factor for the MDA or “Money Development Alliance” was money.
“Politically none of them (MDA partners) agree in an ideological manner. So they came together and that is why we see the anti-incumbency because the MDA is ruptured and people are going in different ways,” Mathew said while declaring that there is no MDA anymore.
Expressing concern over the issue of landlessness and poverty in the state of Meghalaya, the AICC media coordinator said that 75% of the rural population of Meghalaya are landless and 32.7% of the people are living under poverty as per the NITI Aayog data.
Accusing the BJP of being a ‘master of corruption’, Mathew said, “Look at the Adani corruption. The people of Meghalaya have major investments in LIC as well as in SBI. Look at the exposure of LIC, SBI in the Adani scam. What if these two corporations collapse, what happens to the savings of the people of Meghalaya. These are the questions which we want to pose to the people of Meghalaya to ask these questions when they are saying why the Congress is the alternative.”
He further assured that the Congress will order a probe into all the corruption allegations against the MDA government.
“Definitely yes once we are voted to power we have a responsibility to the people of Meghalaya to probe the corruption allegation and if anyone is found guilty they will be put under the law as per the legal system existing in the state,” he said.
Mukul made greatest blunder
Earlier, Sharma said that former chief minister Mukul Sangma has made the greatest political blunder of his life by joining the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
“With all due respect to him, I think he has made the greatest political blunder of his life by joining the TMC,” Sharma said.
She also reminded that late Purno Agitok Sangma had also joined the TMC but their friendship did not last long as it died down and said, “That time itself, it was realised that the people of Meghalaya will never accept TMC because it is an outsider party.”
Sharma said that the Trinamool Congress will not win many seats in the coming elections.
“We have got feedback that they are not going to win many seats in Garo Hills and I don’t think they are going to make any impact at all in Khasi Hills region. So I feel he (Mukul) has made the biggest political blunder by leaving the Congress party,” she added.
