SHILLONG:
Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Vincent H Pala has given a thumbs down to the government for its performance in education, health, livelihood economy and is critical of loans taken by it.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, he said all these loans are concentrated only in certain departments such as roads and power where they have their own people.
He added, “They are paying interest which is almost Rs 1000 crore a year, instead of making schools, roads, new buildings. All these loans are taken in dollars. These loans are being taken not for the public but for their own interest.”
“The people of Meghalaya are paying for the contractors and the gamblers,” he said.
As for making Meghalaya a gambling destination, Pala said that it is done for a section of people’s self-interest and not for the people of Meghalaya.
“People cannot gamble in Meghalaya, they don’t have that capacity. If they give a licence they may survive for one or two years but they have to close down. With illegal money, people are gambling, so Meghalaya drug abuse is increasing, flesh trade is increasing,” he said.
He said that the government should have built a medical college and provide better power supply but they scrapped it.
“They dragged the state into gambling and into drugs. I think the people will not spare them in 2023,” he said.