Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) founder and president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said that the party’s foundation is in clean politics and that it looks to protect and safeguard the interest of the indigenous people while at the same time not deny constitutional rights of other people in the state.
He also said that no party is untouchable be it Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but will never work together if they do not accept these principles.
Speaking to The Meghalayan, he also said people should not be blamed for expecting benefits from political parties and candidates ahead of elections as it is the only time they get because after the dust settles their connection with their representatives ceases to exist.
“I do not blame the public but it is the leaders. After we achieved statehood, in the first few terms the people did not choose representatives because they received incentives but they elected them in the hope of good governance which the representatives failed to deliver,” he said.
There has been talk that he may ignore Madanryting, but he denied. He claimed that many of the MLAs did not act against the Panchayat committee of the non-Khasis as it will affect their vote bank politics and not getting their support was one of the many factors that led to his defeat. He said that particular vote bank has expanded, and probably now is larger than that of the locals
He said, “Madanryting is a place where non-Khasis also reside. There were complaints from the residents that successive MLAs could not do anything against the Panchayat set up by the non-Khasis. They told me to do the needful if I win, so I said ok when I become an MLA, I will remove them.”
Stating that he removed the committee in 2013, he said, “I raised this issue as to how there can be a Panchayat which is against the provision of the Constitution. We cannot allow anything which is unconstitutional. Maybe the other community felt that I was against them.”
He also blamed the UDP for his 2018 defeat since the party decided not to support him even though back then, when he was the HSPDP president, the HSPDP two parties had forged an alliance before the elections.
“I am not hurt that I lost but I am disappointed, angry that the party broke the promise,” he said.
HARDCORE REGIONALIST
Having been with UDP, HSPDP, and had also supported the Congress candidate during the Council elections in 2019 and is currently the VPP president, he said, “It does not matter to me if I move away from the party as long as I adhere to my principles. I have strong principles. I moved away from these parties (UDP and HSPDP) as there is no agreement on principles.”
Citing an instance, he said he left the UDP due to a conflict on the uranium issue when Congress and UDP were in power and the minister of the latter held the mining portfolio.
As for HSPDP, he said that back then their motto for the UDP-HSPDP alliance was to have a regional government with no Congress or BJP.
He lost the 2018 elections but he said he was very disappointed when BJP leaders from Assam interfered in the state politics.
Stating that he does not move from party to party, he decided to support the Congress candidate for the Council elections as it is meaningless to talk about party in District Council.
“But then desperate times call for desperate measures. I was desperate and frustrated with the regional parties. I am a hardcore regionalist, it pains me to see regional parties playing games time and again,” Basaiawmoit said.
The call for unification is meant to beguile the public, he said while asserting that unification is not the solution but principle-based politics is the need of the hour.
FAILURE OF MDA
A former FKJGP president, Basaiawmoit said that the failure of the government has led to groups protesting and defying Section 144 CrPC.
“It is not that MDA is paving the way for the pressure groups to protest but it is the failure of the government itself; the government gave them a space and you cannot tell the pressure groups not to protest. They have their arguments such as scholarship delay, unemployment. Agitations do cause inconvenience to the public but the pressure groups do have a reason due to the failure of the government,” Basaiawmoit said.
Stating that the law is not only for activists, he said that corruption is done openly and said that the government time and again says that there is no illegal transportation of coal whereas the overloaded trucks ply across the road which also suffers.
Stating that no pressure group can ensure security and safety, he said that it is up to the people to choose wise representatives “otherwise the future will be frightening”.