Moitra focuses on development in Mawkyrwat, women empowerment in Mawkhar

Shillong, Feb 24: Trinamool Congress’s Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Friday addressed a meeting in Mawkyrwat to garner support for the party’s candidate Sounder S Cajee.

While Moitra focused on the party’s vision for prosperity and development of Meghalaya in the South West Khasi Hills constituency, she harped on women’s safety and empowerment in a public meeting at Mawkhar, under North Shillong constituency, a day before.

Highlighting the corruption and unemployment caused by the BJP-backed and NPP-led MDA government, Moitra and Cajee stressed that TMC is the only political party that can bring back Meghalaya’s lost glory and pride.

The MP demanded accountability from the NPP-BJP government for the series of scandals executed by those in power in the state. “Home Minister Amit Shah came and said that Meghalaya is the most corrupt state. I want to ask the (Union) home minister, you have run the government with NPP for five years. Why was no action taken?”

Women dominated the audience at Moitra’s meeting at Mawkhar on Thursday and the MP took the opportunity to harp on women’s safety and empowerment. She said Kolkata, the capital city of TMC-governed West Bengal, is the safest city in the country for women.

Mentioning that she had a deep connection with Shillong as she grew up in the tea estates of Assam, Moitra pointed out that it is the women who take care of the house as well as business in Meghalaya and they have all the power to bring about a change. She urged all women voters to choose TMC on February 27.

Moitra was campaigning for the party’s North Shillong candidate Elgiva Gwyneth Rynjah.

Earlier on Thursday, Moitra told reporters that TMC cannot be ruled out as an outsider party. “BJP is headquartered in Nagpur and Delhi. Its president JP Nadda is from Himachal. Its leaders (Narendra) Modi and (Amit) Shah are from Gujarat. Why is the BJP not considered an outsider party? Again, the Congress is headquartered in Delhi. Its president Mallikarjun Kharge is from Karnataka. We are also a national party and have equal rights to fight the election here,” she said.

‘Will to solve coal issue’

Meghalaya Monitor asked Moitra about the contentious issue of coal in Jaintia Hills at a time when West Bengal is seeing protests by tribal groups in Birbhum where the TMC government is implementing the Deucha Panchami coal block project. To this, Moitra said every state with mineral deposits faces the same issues.

“The question is whether there is a political will to fight it (illegal coal mining). I think in Bengal we have come down heavily on this. There are systems to do it and there is no question of Trinamool going light on illegal coal or sand mining. So, I don’t think there is any reason to worry about it,” she added.

Before coming to the Khasi Hills, Moitra campaigned for TMC candidate Richard Marak in South Tura. When asked about the election pulse in the West Garo Hills constituency, especially when BJP’s Bernard Marak is holding an edge over other candidates including Conrad Sangma, Moitra asserted that there was a positive sign.

“In the two days that I have spent in Garo Hills, there was a huge response and you can make out that people wanted change. Development is the main issue… Whoever had been in power in Meghalaya did not do a fantastic work… That’s why there is a pulse for change,” she added.

During the interview, Moitra also harped on women’s safety and said Kolkata is the safest city in the country.

Also read: ‘People want a change’