By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: KHNAM general secretary Adelbert Nongrum on Tuesday claimed that he had no problem if people termed him as an ‘under-qualified candidate’.
“I am aware that there are selfish political leaders who are trying to spoil my image by questioning my educational qualification. This is an indication of their desperation since they do not want me to win the election,” Nongrum said while speaking to reporters after filing his nomination from Shillong North constituency on Tuesday.
He, however, questioned those ‘so called intellectual’ on what they had managed to do in the last 40 years for the overall interest of the State.
“The inter-State boundary problem with Assam is yet been resolved. Even after so many years these ‘intellectuals’ have not been able to come up with a fool-proof mechanism to address the issue of influx,” Nongrum said.
“If this is the effort of those people who consider themselves to be intelligent I am very happy not to be tagged among these intellectuals,” he added.
“I would prove to the people that despite being ‘under-qualified’ I can do better when compared to the intellectuals who have not done anything remarkable after we got our Statehood,” Nongrum said.
Asked for his reaction on contesting against two women candidates – Roshan Warjri (Congress) and Ibanrilin Kharsati (UDP) – he said that he had respect for the two candidates.
“I have nothing personal against them. They are only my opponents in this election,” Nongrum added.
While maintaining that he was getting enormous support from various parts of the constituency, Nongrum stated that the non-tribals would also vote for him despite the fact that he was contesting from a regional party.
“I know that the people want a representative who is true to his words. I promise the people of the constituency that they would not be disappointed if they elect me as their representative,” the KHNAM general secretary stated.