Politics has been in the family and senior Congress leader John F Kharshiing was no stranger to it when he stepped into the political bandwagon in the 1990s. He has not looked back since.
The general secretary of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee has belittled the talk of anti-incumbency and anti-Congress parties gaining public support ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections. On the contrary, he says, the Congress will win with a thumping majority for the simple reason that people are more comfortable with the party and have faith in the Congress-led government as it has performed amid the complexities and constraints engulfing the state and restored stability.
The articulate politician also takes a dig at alliances, saying coalition governments have not worked in Meghalaya and that many aspiring parties emerge and tie up before an election but apparently break away and lose grip once the polls are over.
A ticket aspirant from Nongkrem constituency, Kharshiing says that given a chance he would address the issue of formalisation of the institution of Dorbars among other problems in his constituency.
As the chairman of the MPCC committee on local self governance, co-chairman of the Meghalaya State Planning Board, working president of Meghalaya State Olympic Association and vice-president of Boxing Federation of India, the man wears many hats.
Saurav Bora caught up with the Congress leader at his office in Laitumkhrah for an exclusive interview on Tuesday afternoon.
Here are the excerpts of the interview:
ST: With a little over three months to go for the Assembly elections how do you assess the political situation in Meghalaya where Congress does not seem to have an edge?
Kharshiing: (Smiles) In fact, it’s the other way round. I think people by and large are the best judges… Similar speculations were there in the previous elections but the Congress came back… This time also, the Congress will win with a thumping majority… because people have seen that the government led by the party has performed, and more importantly, restored stability in the state…that’s the key…to pursue certain policies and objectives, you need to have a stable government…the trend in the country too is single-party rule.
ST: How difficult is it for a party to govern in a state like Meghalaya?
Kharshiing: In Meghalaya, there are different complex problems for which the other parties do not have any solutions…what I feel is that the Congress has gone by its objectives and manifesto…Of course, there are demands but you can only do what you can within the limited budget in hand….For example, we have limited funds for roads. The PMGSY had criteria that villages should have at least 500 inhabitants. Then we had to request the government to reduce it to 250, but you still have many hamlets in the state with a population of below 200. That is where the challenge lies…These are certainly important schemes where you require qualification and the government is pursuing it and complementing with other schemes…Development has taken place…
ST: Will anti-incumbency affect Congress’ chances. If not, why?
Kharshiing: From what I have been hearing, people are more comfortable with the Congress than any other party as they know how the party functions….the others have had their share of governance but have not been able to last long. The key aspect here will be the candidates and the party is finalising the list.
Then again, if I were to cite an example of the developments in the education sector, I would say that the salaries of teachers have been increased….this was not an easy task…trying to work within the framework of the Right to Education Act and getting that in place, is also not an easy task….here in Meghalaya, a number of schools are run by mission that operate on the basis of an autonomous management concept, whereas the RTE Act has certain criteria suitable for government-funded schools. So the challenges are there… but various activities such as getting the teachers to enroll under various courses have taken place… On the other hand, the government has taken the approach to set up government schools that are being upgraded under ADB programme. So things are happening at a certain pace…
In healthcare too, we have become a model for the country…the health insurance scheme was initially meant for BPL people…but our chief minister, who is a medical doctor, repackaged it into a scheme for other categories…it’s been made universal. A number of families have benefitted. But of course, there is more to be done…that’s why you need stability…in the past there were so many chief ministers and things used to get stuck…but yes, people may have their differences in a democratic set-up.
ST: How do you look at the anti-Congress forces such as BJP, the UDP-HSPDP alliance, PDF among others?
Kharshiing: At the outset, I am very happy that various political parties are jostling for space…but the point is you only have 60 seats….So it’s but natural to have many aspirants…I wish them all the best…
However, in the past, we have had regional parties such as Peoples’ Democratic Movement and People’s Demand Implementation Convention, and so on and so forth…who have come and gone…it’s an ongoing process of parties being born prior to the elections….More parties mean more debates, which will work in favour of the Congress, which is an over-100 year old party and has seen its ups and downs…
People have had a bitter experience in coalition governments… coalitions have not worked in Meghalaya… others have all worked with the Congress at some point or the other… They are not capable of governing on their own. The UDP-HSPDP alliance is only an alliance of convenience and may not last after the elections. If two can merge, why can’t the others merge…?
ST: What about NPP?
Kharshiing: Well…it’s an irony they could not hold their flock in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council…you have to see what is happening on the ground…they had an absolute majority but the NPP-led coalition in the council collapsed. The Lok Sabha polls’ outcome, on the other hand, was a mark of respect for PA Sangma.
ST: You recently said you are ready for a debate with BJP leaders on the coal ban issue. Are you still game for it?
Kharshiing: In fact, I’m waiting for them to respond to my call…What I was trying to say is that as political leaders, can we be honest on certain issues?…Over 5lakh people have been affected…the coal industry had a huge livelihood and economic impact on large sections. The government thereafter passed a resolution asking the Centre to exempt the state from the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act…as the land tenure system in Meghalaya is different. In 2016, another resolution was passed to pressure the Centre on the need to invoke Para 12 (A) (b) of the Sixth Schedule, through a Presidential notification to ensure that central laws related to mining are repealed from the state.…But nothing has happened so far. I would say, it is inhuman (for the BJP) to say that we will try to remove the ban only if we come to power…The respect for federalism in the country is in a crisis…
ST: You are a Congress candidate from Nongkrem constituency. How do you see the competition from HSPDP and PDF there and what are the issues plaguing your constituency?
Kharshiing: I cannot deny the fact that I am taking on very famous people… Bah Ardent and Bah Shylla have been two-term MLAs and former chief executive members…
There are issues that have to be addressed in Nongkrem. I feel an important issue is the need for formalisation of the institution of the dorbar. The traditional institutions are complementing governance at the ground level and therefore have to be empowered by laws and rules without which they cannot function….. Then again, empowering the dorbars will also lessen the burden on the representatives at the grassroots. The communities need to have clarity on the role and responsibility of the dorbar…the description of a dorbar is not there in the Constitution and the outcome is that there have been protests and agitations on various issues…Sadly, there is an apparent lack of communication between the state and traditional institutions.
About other shortcomings, the constituency does not have a college….In fact there are complex issues such as water scarcity in many villages….livelihood issues, environmental issues as majority of people use firewood as fuel…The interior roads have to be developed. Going by popular opinion, people want a change in the constituency.
ST: As an advocate of the Instrument of Accession and Annexed Agreement, can you explain in layman’s terms exactly what the agreement means? Will it be an agenda for the Congress in the polls?
Kharshiing: In short, 25 Khasi states acceded to the dominion of India under certain conditions …they should have a found place in the Constitution, which would have created the formalisation of the traditional institutions. But that has not happened following which we have had so many agitations. The village courts too have not been empowered till today.
The Khasi identity, the coal issue, the boundary issue …all these issues are connected to the Instrument of Accession. We have various categories of land and until and unless they are taken into account by the Constitution, there will be issues. The central laws are in conflict with the customary laws here…We are a complex state and require extra effort to understand…Like Jammu and Kashmir, the state will require a special proviso to include the document.
I would like to deliberate on this matter in the Assembly….it boils down to governance….the state has to take the decision…the district councils have to be on the same page with the state…once we have that, the feeling of insecurity will not be there.