Shillong, Mar 13: Congress leader Ronnie Lyngdoh alleged that the All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are having a secret pact ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
In response to a statement by AITC leader Mukul Sangma, Ronnie said that compared to West Bengal, which has 42 Lok Sabha seats, Meghalaya has only 2 seats.
“So if they say we went ahead and declared our candidates in Meghalaya that is why TMC is not willing to work with us, why don’t they declare that they have come to an agreement for seat sharing in West Bengal. Now, they don’t want to work with the Congress. So we would like to question the TMC leaders have you got some understanding with the BJP. Is there a secret understanding between the TMC and the BJP to prevent consolidation of votes, people, who would like to see secular democratic country like India defeat BJP, which is communal, which is trying to polarise the people on so many issues?” he asked.
He added, “Now, let us put that question why doesn’t TMC, which is part of the INDIA Bloc come to an understanding and come to a seat sharing in West Bengal?.”
“Because now the BJP understands very clearly West Bengal has a sizeable number of minority votes. So if they come together all the minority votes will be consolidated in the parties belonging to the INDIA Bloc. So there is much more hidden agenda behind this just to blame Meghalaya, which has only two seats and West Bengal has 42 seats,” Ronnie said.
He added that if 2 seats are so important to TMC and the 42 seats are not important I think it speaks volumes of their double standards.”
He pointed that many opposition leaders are hunted by CBI, ED, IT put behind but in West Bengal no such thing happened. “So I am asking this question is there any secret understanding between the BJP and the TMC”, Ronnie added.
“It is for the people to judge and defeat this party and vote parties that have come together to ensure that we have a vibrant democracy, we have freedom of press, freedom of the judiciary and people can worship as per their faith and as per their religion and uphold the constitution, which is very important,” he said.
BJP plays politics with CAA
Ronnie also termed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as petty politics of the BJP to divide people on religious lines ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“You just see the CAA, it is petty politics of the BJP. Just before the elections they brought this just to divide the people on religious lines, which we condemn, which we will oppose and we request the people of India, the people of the state to vote for a party that stands for secularism, people that will protect the constitution, people that will ensure democracy is maintained,” he said.
In response to the statement of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma that the CAA will not have any impact in Meghalaya since Sixth Schedule areas have been exempted from its purview, Lyngdoh said, “We will feel more reassured if that is part and parcel of the CAA rules. Just by mere making statements I don’t think we can be so reassured that it will not be implemented. Let us see the rules that they have framed that Sixth Schedule areas are exempted then we will believe”.
