SHILLONG:
The political mudslinging between TMC and BJP in Meghalaya has been making headlines over the past few months, but Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is unmoved and says otherwise.
Gandhi called the TMC-BJP rivalry a show and claimed that the idea of TMC making inroads into Meghalaya was to strengthen the BJP.
Gandhi said this while addressing a gathering at an election meeting in Malki ground, Shillong, on February 22.
“The idea of the TMC in Meghalaya is to strengthen the BJP. TMC will repeat what they did in Goa,” Gandhi said.
AICC leader Ajoy Kumar made a similar statement during his address at a rally in Tripura earlier this month, where he stated that Trinamool Congress is “playing a game” to support the BJP in Tripura.
Hitting out at the BJP, Gandhi alleged the saffron party and RSS of trying to attack and erode the cultural, traditional, and religious heritage of the people of Meghalaya.
“The reason I am here is to expose the ideology of the BJP and specifically the RSS – which is to attack and destroy your culture, traditions, and religion (sic),” he said.
The Congress leader expressed his commitment to supporting the preservation of the language in the ongoing battle, stating that they (Congress) will not allow BJP to force its ideologies on the people of Meghalaya.
“We are not going to allow the ideology of the BJP to harm your language, your tradition, your religion, your culture, and your history,” he said.
Pointing out that 47 out of the 60 candidates are young people below the age of 45, with 10 of them being women, Gandhi said, “It is our aim to connect to the aspirations of the young voters -not only to show a youthful Congress but also a party with experience.”
The Congress leader’s visit to Meghalaya comes days before Meghalaya goes to polls on February 27, 2023.
The election is crucial for Congress as it aims to retain its foothold and return to power in Meghalaya.