SHILLONG: The Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has lashed out at critics who often argue that the North Eastern states are always coming in with begging bowl.
Sangma was addressing the audience at Shillong Polytechnic Campus at the foundation laying ceremony of the Shillong Government Engineering College on Friday.
Peeved at the “begging bowl” comment, the CM said, “There is nothing called begging bowl. Nobody is going to give when we beg.”
“There is no space for begging bowl in the Constitution. We have to work hard and use our resources wisely,” he said.
Referring to the Constitutional provision with regard to the distribution of resources in the country, he said, “Where are the resources coming from? The resources are coming from the states. Whatever resources that go to the government of India’s coffer come from the states.”
“If the states don’t perform, economy will slow down and nation will suffer,” he added.
Asserting that the growth rates in the North eastern region are very high, Sangma said, “We have crossed two digits growth figure and people dare to say that we are not performing.”
“Even China has come down now but Meghalaya is going at that level of growth,” he added.
He argued that only few states contribute to the resources of the nation in terms of the revenue that goes to the coffer of the Union government.
“Only Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are able to contribute,” he said.
