From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI: The Congress, which saw a series of poll debacles and lost its stronghold in the North East, is planning to harp on the saffron party’s anti-secular policies ahead of the 2018 elections in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who chaired a meeting of the reconstituted North East Congress Coordination Committee (NECCC) on Thursday, urged party leaders to highlight the anti-secular policies of the BJP-led NDA Government which would affect the region most.
“The whole country is witnessing rabid religious intolerance that does not augur well for our country, which is famous not only for its unity but also for its diversity,” Rahul said, adding, “The ruling party at the Centre simply does not listen to others’ views and is not known to respect other religions, faiths and beliefs.”
Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who is the new convener of NECCC, said the meeting discussed issues that are common in nature and exclusive to the North East states.
He also asserted that the overall connect of the Congress with the northeastern people is stronger than the rest of the country.
Meghalaya PCC president and former convener of NECCC D.D Lapang stressed on the need for going back to the people at the grassroots level.
The next NECCC meeting will be held in Shillong where Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders of the party are expected to attend.
The increasing presence of BJP in Meghalaya and the growing dissidence within the party have unnerved the Congress that has lost Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and recently Manipur, to BJP.
The enormous, yet expected, loss in the North East region prompted the Grand Old party to “reconstitute” the almost defunct NECCC with all the present and former chief ministers and party heads, including Lapang and former chief minister S.C Marak.
“An NECCC meeting in poll-bound Meghalaya will send the right message,” the party feels.
Among others who attended Thursday’s meeting are former Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur chief ministers Nabam Tuki and Okram Ibobi Singh, respectively.
Elaborating on how the Congress-led UPA tried to bring remote North East to the national mainstream, Mukul said, “The century-old party knew the pulse of the different ethnic groups in the region and accordingly gave them several special benefits like the North East Investment and Industrial Policy and the special category status.”
NECCC was reconstituted as NECC soon after the formation of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) led by BJP strong man and Mukul’s bête noire Himanta Biswa Sarma.
There are eight permanent invitees, including former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and S.C Marak. The committee’s meeting will be held on a rotation basis in the states and the respective senior leader from each state will preside over the meet, Mukul said.
After its massive victory in Assam, BJP had held the first political conclave of NEDA, which constitutes as many as 10 regional parties from the North East. The Congress is nervous that BJP is eyeing both Meghalaya and Mizoram.