SHILLONG:
TMC leaders, on February 24, lashed out at the BJP and Congress over their remarks on corruption and development.
Addressing media persons at the TMC office in Shillong today, Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, State in-charge Manas R Bhunia, and state party president Charles Pyngrope said it is ironic for the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his party – the BJP, which is a coalition partner in the ruling dispensation, to make such statements.
“For Amit Shah to say Meghalaya is the most corrupt state is ironic. His party is part of the government for the last five years; it’s like him looking in the mirror and saying corruption is at its peak in Meghalaya. People are hungry for change and let me tell you, TMC is here – it is the only alternative,” Moitra said.
Meanwhile, Manas R Bhunia condemned and opposed the statement made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that TMC is the B-team of BJP and said, “We are fighting in BJP-led Tripura and Goa. We are now fighting in Meghalaya where you have a BJP-supported government. Then how are we supporting the BJP?”
He stated that it has been proven by the activities and legacy of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee that all the issues she is fighting for are supported by the people and the fact that TMC is running its third term in Bengal is a testimony to that.
Similarly, Moitra asserted that West Bengal has proven that in a one-to-one fight with the BJP, TMC is the only party that can take on the might of the saffron party.
“We are out to defeat the BJP and all its allies,” she said, adding that Meghalaya is not a poor state; it is a mineral-rich state. “The government in the past five years has done nothing for infrastructure, roads, healthcare, and all-round development. They (the incumbent government) deserve to be shown the door and we are here to offer people an alternative,” she said.
Echoing similar views, state party president Charles Pyngrope said, “These last few days have been quite disturbing for most of the citizens of Meghalaya by the statement made by Amit Shah that Meghalaya is the most corrupt state and by Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that TMC is the B-team of BJP.”
“A statement coming from a national leader of a party that is in the coalition is an indication that the governance given to the people of Meghalaya for the last five years has been very dismal, to say the least,” Pyngrope hit out at Shah.
Targeting Rahul Gandhi, the state party chief said, “We assure you that irrespective of the comments made, we are nobody’s BJP. We are here as TMC to fight the divisive forces that are all around the country and we will fight in every state against the BJP and any BJP-led government.”