SHILLONG:
NPP national president and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, on February 18, came down heavily on Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) for raking up the border MoU time and again and turning the sensitive matter into a political issue to gain brownie points.
“It is sad that the TMC is making such statement. When they were in the government (Mukul Sangma), they did nothing and when the issue has been resolved to some extent in six locations, they are raking it up just because they want to make this a political issue,” Sangma said.
Accusing the TMC of trying to take away the rights of the border residents to live in peace, the chief minister claimed that when he paid a visit to some of the areas of differences recently, he heard the sentiments of the people where expressed anger over the statements made by the TMC.
“At a time when they are seeing a party that is taking interest in resolving it, TMC wants to once again put these people in a difficult situation; people angry at TMC,” Sangma said.
Attacking the UDP over the similar statements made by the regional party, Sangma said, “It is sad because they were very much part of the government, they were part of meetings and discussions that took place; they were very much involved in the whole process. Now when everything are working out and issues resolved, it is sad that there are certain leaders and political parties that are trying to play politics with sensitive issues like these.”
When asked about Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Meghalaya being the most corrupt state, the chief minister said the BJP tends to make the same statement in every election, like in West Bengal and Telangana.
“I have nothing to say on this but it is a reminder that BJP was part of this government for five years. They made this statement during the Bengal elections and now they are saying the same thing in Meghalaya,” he said.
When asked about the number of seats NPP is expecting to win, the NPP chief said, “That will be seen when counting is done but we will emerge as the single large party and we are inching towards getting an absolute majority.”
Reacting to queries on corruption charges and alleged COVID scam, Sangma said, “They like calling them scams. These are all allegations; inquiry committees were instituted and reports placed. People can make all kinds of allegations but everything are in order. Please feel free to file RTI; that is your right.”