SHILLONG: Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma took a potshot at the media on Tuesday, saying that a politician is not recognized unless he blows his own trumpet.
Speaking after the address of Prime Minister of Tibetan government in exile, Lopsang Sangay at an interactive session here, Dr Sangma agreed with the leader of the Tibetan Government in Exile that “elected representatives are there to serve the people.”
Humility in service, however, is hard to come by because, “Thanks to the pressure from the media, we have to blow our trumpet,” Dr Sangma said.
“Therefore we see so many publicity stunts and this is very disturbing,” he said.
He related this to his experience of being questioned by the local media after New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had refused an official residence, in light of the Rs 10 crore expenditure incurred on the Meghalaya CM’s official house.
“The spirit of humility in serving people needs to be re-examined,” he said, after claiming that he never publicised the fact that, in his first years as a newly-elected representative, he operated out of two rooms at the MLA’s hostel.
The Sikyong steered through any possible controversy when called to reply, saying he “did not want to get into who is the real Aam Aadmi.”
As for himself, he described his service to his people as “a labour of love”.
He also pointed out that Permanent Secretaries in the Government in Exile as well as members of the cabinet (Kashag in Tibetan) receive only between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 per month.
Many of those serving in the government left high-paying jobs in the West, he added, and concluded by saying, “Our contribution is secondary to the sufferings of the Tibetan people inside Tibet.”
Earlier, Dr Sangma expressed his hope in visiting a free Tibet.
“I look forward to the day when I will be invited to the other side of the Himalayas,” he said. “With the Middle Way method, I think it will happen very soon and the wishes of the Tibetan people will bear fruit
