SHILLONG:
BJP leader and Tura MDC Bernard N Marak has expressed confidence of winning from South Tura, a constituency which is currently represented by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, in the upcoming 2023 Assembly elections.
Marak told reporters that his recent arrest will not affect his political fight against the chief minister.
“This will not affect my political mobilisation in my area because people know the truth and ultimately the truth prevails…It is not going to affect my political fight against the CM because we are winning (the seat) anyway,” he said.
Marak was recently released on bail after he was arrested for allegedly running a brothel in his private farm house at Rimpu Bagan.
He said that no matter how much they try to frame him, the high court had ruled out all allegations against him.
When asked, Marak said that South Tura is a constituency of intellectuals and people don’t go for money.
“Even now if the present MLA is hoping to win he is hoping to win by money power which is not going to work because people in Tura vote for a leader and not a politician,” he said.
He continued, “And I am more a leader then a politician. I am a people oriented leader. I always look into people’s issues. It is not only people of Tura that are actually confiding in me to take up issues, right from the students’ scholarship issue to old age pension – so you can see the area that I am working in. So people want a leader more than a politician.”
According to him, many leaders have become politicians but none of them are leaders anymore as they don’t take responsibility.
Expressing concern over the delay of the government in releasing pending salaries to many employees and schemes to beneficiaries, Marak said, “In this festive season, this is the duty of a leader to take up initiatives to clear all these dues otherwise it will not be a merry Christmas but it will be bad Christmas for everyone. So it should be cleared. We being believers in God we should be focus in serving the people not in gaining out of our position.”
He said the CM is spending so much on expensive entertainment programmes.
“I feel it is necessary but there are more responsibility for him being in that position and being in-charge of Finance so it is duty to work day and night to clear all the bills. I don’t know what is he thinking by organising concerts, it can be organised afterwards also but why at this point when so many families are deprived of their own dues,” Marak added.