SHILLONG:
National vice president of National People’s Party (NPP), Prestone Tynsong, on February 21 slammed the ‘double standard’ of the coalition partners of Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) on the interstate border issue.
He separately attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its neglect of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) demand and inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the 8th Schedule to the Constitution.
Tynsong’s comments came in reaction to promises made by the MDA partners in their respective manifestos to review the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the government of Assam with regard to six of the twelve areas of difference.
Tynsong told reporters that the developments came as a shock, as “every step taken, we had consulted each and every partner in the Cabinet”.
He also reminded that an all-party meeting was also convened by the NPP-led state government before signing the MoU on March 29, last year. The government had also held meetings with the autonomous district councils and members of the NGOs.
“We had said these are the arrangements made before we go to Delhi for signing of the MoU. It was very transparent,” he added.
Stating that other parties such as the All India Trinamool Congress have also expressed reservations against the MoU, he said the current crop of political parties could not resolve the border issues, which have been pending for over 50 years.
“Therefore, people of the state should not trust these political parties at all because they are not at all serious about the boundary solution,” he concluded.
Tynsong says BJP’s rhetoric on the ILP and 8th Schedule were only an election gimmick, even when the party had not paid heed to the resolutions passed on these by the Meghalaya Assembly.
He also recalled that the delegation led by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on several occasions, requesting them to consider the resolutions on ILP and 8th Schedule.
“We have already passed the resolution three-and-a-half years back, and when we went as a delegation under the leadership of Conrad K Sangma, [the BJP] did not pay much heed on these issues,” he said.
He added that the NPP-led state government had also aggressively pursued the matter relating to the amendment to the Meghalaya Residents’ Safety and Security Act, which continues to lay pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs. “I could see they are not at all serious about these issues which are very sensitive and very important for the state of Meghalaya.”
He concluded: “I am very sure that they are going to have faith in us once again. On March 2 we will cross the required numbers of 33-34 seats and we will form the government on our own.”