Shillong, Feb 20: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Monday criticised the change of stand of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma towards the Conrad Sangma-led government during elections.
NPP and BJP are part of North East Democratic Alliance headed by Sarma.
Speaking to reporters, Gogoi said Sarma cannot absolve BJP from the failure of MDA government.
‘Yesterday NEDA Convenor & CM Assam Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma admitted that despite being a part of the alliance NPP- led MDA government – their government in Meghalaya had failed to deliver and questioned where the money meant for development had vanished. Sarma had also lamented that medical colleges in Shillong and Tura did not see the light of day as promised. He had also admitted that the alliance government even failed to host the National Games.
“The people of Meghalaya want to know why Dr. Sarma was silent and did not take up these issues as NEDA convenor before elections? Everybody is aware how the government was formed in Meghalaya with BJP playing an important role as a broker to form the post poll alliance. Everybody is aware how close Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma is with CM Conrad Sangma and how he was made CM. Now Dr. Sarma cannot absolve himself of the responsibility of denying the people of Meghalaya a government that should have been committed to work for the people of Meghalaya”. He cannot absolve his party, the BJP from the corruption carried out by the MDA,’ Gogoi said.
Stating that Oscar awards for acting should go to Sarma and Sangma, Gogoi asked Sarma to drop the drama to fool the people of Meghalaya.
If Meghalaya government is a failure and incompetent, then he and his party are equally responsible for this failure, he added.
Gogoi pointed out that Dr Sarma had claimed that there has not been a single incident in Assam that has affected the religious sentiments of Christian people in his state.
“On the contrary news reports have shown increasing intolerance towards minorities – Muslims and Christians alike. There have been instances of church demolition in Chirang in BTAD area of Assam -Bhutan border by BJP government.
He recalled that Janajati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Manch in Assam ,an organisation backed by RSS, had demanded the removal of the Scheduled Tribe Christians. This is against the spirit of respecting the indigenous ethnic origin of the Scheduled Tribes of the North East, especially the Christian community in Meghalaya and Nagaland. It also demonstrates the compelling need of BJP to repeatedly invoke their anti-Christian mentality, he added.
Religious profiling and harassment of the Christian community in Majuli, Assam is further evidence of the mistreatment of the minority communities by the BJP, he said.
Breakdown of law and order
Just a few months after the MDA government was sworn in, Shillong was rocked by violence and the capital city was under curfew after clashes erupted in the Punjabi lane
In Feb-March 2020, there was violence in Ichamati in Shella constituency that left several dead and injured.
The killing of Cherishstarfield Thangkhiew on August 13 last year had sparked massive protests in Shillong and caused aw and order situation.
He says in October 2022 the unemployment rally in Shillong turned violent.
“And who can forget the tragic incident which happened on 22nd November 2022, in the border village of Mukroh, when 5 innocent villagers were killed in police firing”, he said.
The Assam MP said drug trafficking is a serious law and order issue as addiction to drugs has destroyed families across Meghalaya. With an estimated 2.5 lakh drug users in a state where the population is only 30 lakh the number of families impacted is astonishing. Proximity to the golden triangle makes it susceptible for drugs trade and hence the government needed to be extra vigilant to curb the trade.
“In order to make Meghalaya drug free, we will adopt a policy of zero tolerance towards drug peddlers”, he said.
