TURA: BJP national spokesperson and Meghalaya in-charge Nalin Kohli has accused Bernard Rimpu N. Marak and Bacheng Ch Marak of “actively working” at sabotaging the party’s prospects in the 2018 Assembly elections in the State.
Welcoming the resignations of two Garo Hills leaders, who wanted to organise a beef party to celebrate the NDA government’s three years at the Centre, Kohli said their move was on expected lines.
“We welcome it (resignation) since disciplinary action against him (Bacheng alias Bachu) was also in the process. These persons were actively working to sabotage the prospects of our potential candidates for the elections next year,” said Kohli.
While Bernard resigned on May 31, Bachu quit the party on Monday after their “beef and bitchi (rice beer) fest” plan drew sharp criticisms from within the party.
Kohli said the two leaders would be expelled. The national BJP leader, while asserting that the duo was unlikely to have got tickets, said, “They were aspirants themselves but the party did not see them as winning candidates. It is in this context that the current process of the party reorganisation at the district level would have seen them being replaced by other leaders in Garo Hills.”
On the ongoing row over ban on cattle slaughter, Kohli termed as “false and malicious untruth” reports that it wants to impose a ban on beef in Meghalaya. He reiterated that any such decision is for the State Government to take and accused the Congress of communalising the political agenda.
Kohli said the party’s single agenda in the State is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’.
Accusing the Congress of running away from a debate on its performance, Kohli lampooned Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and Meghalaya Congress in-charge C.P Joshi of bringing Assam MP Gaurav Gogoi to debate on their behalf.
“The cosy club of dynastic Congress’s first families are desperately working together to save a full tenure of non-performance. That’s why perhaps the ‘Dirty Tricks Department’ of the Congress is trying to communalise the agenda with a malicious untruth that BJP wants to impose a beef ban on the state of Meghalaya.
“Nothing is farther from the truth since under the Constitution, the Centre cannot encroach on the area of what a state government has to decide,” said Kohli.
(With inputs from PTI)
