MEGHALAYA :
Former MLA and Congress candidate from Mylliem Ronnie V Lyngdoh, on February 7, rebuked his opponents for calling Congress a “sinking ship”.
Speaking to media persons after filing his nomination in Shillong today, Lyngdoh said that calling Congress a ‘sinking ship’ is an unjustified statement.
“How can we say Congress is a sinking ship when the party still has its presence in all the states in the country?” he asked.
Admitting that the situation is a little different in Meghalaya, Lyngdoh said, “Yes, we do not have any sitting MLA, but the presence is still there. Most parties don’t even have their presence anywhere else except in Meghalaya, and some don’t even have a presence in the entire state barring a few districts.”
“So, when you make statements, say something that can be justified. The Congress will bounce back – just like we did in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, Congress will wrest more states from the BJP,” Lyngdoh added.
Expressing confidence in recapturing the Mylliem seat, the ex-MLA said the support he is getting from cross-sections of the society is inspiring. “I feel grateful and inspired when I see youths taking part in active politics,” he said.
Training his guns at NPP candidate and ex-MLA Hamletson Dohling, Lyngdoh accused Dohling of lying and deceiving the people in the last elections by telling them that, “if Bah Ronnie gets re-elected, he will expand the jurisdiction of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is not a fact.”
“If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword,” Lyngdoh said while hinting at Dohling’s prospects.
When asked why he lost the 2018 general elections, Lyngdoh said that the people were misled about the building bye-laws. “That was the only reason. But people later understood otherwise, I would not have bounced back by winning the MDC election a year later. This only showed that the people still have faith in me and Congress,” he said.
To a question on the border issue, the Congress leader said the hypocrisy of the present government has been exposed. “They are honouring the leaders of the statehood movement, but what are they doing now – 50 years later? They are under NEDA – trying to sell our lands,” he said.
“We are not going to surrender 50 years of hard-won movement – We are not going to be under the domination of Assam,” he added.
When asked about his priorities, Lyngdoh named youth and women empowerment as the key areas he will focus on if he wins the election, adding that Congress looks to bringing good governance, corruption-free government, employment generation initiatives, and uninterrupted power supply, among others.