SHILLONG:
The state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Monday, welcomed former Congress legislator Bluebell Sangma along with three others to the party and said that the saffron party will win many seats in Garo Hills in the upcoming 2023 Assembly polls.
The other leaders, who have joined the party, include Rafius Sangma of Rongjeng, Joyson Marak and Rimjeng Marak.
All were welcomed into the party by state president Ernest Mawrie.
The BJP MDC from Tura, Bernard N Marak said that the BJP has become a choice for many “like-minded” people who want to bring a positive change to the Garo Hills.
He said that corruption by its alliance partners and anomalies faced in Garo Hills Autonomous Council (GHADC) has sailed the minds of the leaders in Congress and other parties towards the BJP.
Stating that BJP will win many seats in Garo Hills in 2023, the BJP MDC said that the march to end corruption, bring about good governance and to take steps for mass development and employment will be the ultimate goals of BJP and it’s karyakartas.
He further claimed that more and more will be joining BJP in coming months.
Accusing the National People’s Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government of feeding wrong information to the Centre on implementation of the various central schemes in the state, Marak said that the Centre’s initiatives have remained a farfetched dream for the needy due to the failure of the state mechanism.
Alleging that the Jal Jeevan mission has failed to reach every household and connection of running water has turned into a “joke” in most villages, Marak said that approved pipes were replaced by plastic ones in many places.
Asking chief minister Conrad K Sangma to deliver the schemes to the genuine beneficiaries instead of making media hype around them, the BJP leader said, “If debated, chief minister will find himself in a very awkward position.”
The BJP MDC from Tura, Bernard N Marak further alleged that instead of actual farmers getting benefited by the Farmer’s Card scheme, its names forwarded by the ruling party’s workers who are them.
“In the Job Card Scheme, the accounts of the beneficiaries are not updated to the Centre as the government is saying job card holders have no bank accounts and do not use cellphones. The wages are not paid to the villagers in full and the blocks keep blaming the Centre for nonpayment of the wages,” he said, adding that women didn’t get any benefit from the “Zero balance account” till date and the same is the case with old-age and widow pensioners, among others, the MDC added.