SHILLONG: The Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) president, Ardent M. Basaiawmoit, said the euphoria over the National People’s Party (NPP) is short-lived.
Replying to a query on the number of people joining NPP, Basaiawmoit said, “The enthusiasm associated with politicians joining NPP is short-lived when people understand the power of the party. Nobody knows whether NPP is strong or not, even those joining NPP do not know whether it is still going strong in Garo Hills. They believed that NPP will get 18 seats in Garo Hills.”
Urging the people to make a prudent decision, Basaiawmoit said he could foresee that people would regret after 2018 elections as they were being washed away by “something that is fake”.
“The truth is that our people have made a wrong decision. In electoral politics, everybody has high hope that they will win. Even for political parties, they cannot say that they will lose,” he added.
Asked on the common minimum programme of the UDP-HSPDP alliance, Basaiawmoit said both parties are preparing for their respective parts and CMP would be finalised in a joint meeting.
Meanwhile, the general council of the HSPDP has decided to hold a rally to garner support from different parts of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region.
HSPDP president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit spoke to reporters at the end of the general council meeting at Dinam Hall, Jaiaw, on Tuesday in which he added that the central executive committee of the party is entrusted with the task to fix the date and venue for the rally. “The general council meeting today disappointed many supporters as we had to restrict the number to 40 members from each constituency as the venue today was not convenient,” he said, adding, “Based on this, we have decided to hold a public rally on the second week of December.”
Basaiawmoit added that the general council also discussed on the constitution of the party and elected office bearers with Kara Shen as the new general secretary for a term of three years, Shemborlang Rynjah as assistant joint secretary of the party, besides others.
Legal notice to RBI
The legal cell of HSPDP will serve a notice to the Reserve Bank of India for making Aadhaar mandatory.
Basaiawmoit said the matter pertaining to Aadhaar is sub judice. However, he expressed concern that it is due to the response of the people that Aadhaar enrolment is picking up pace in the state.
“People are rushing to get themselves enrolled for Aadhaar though we have taken up the issue. People should not rush when it comes to policies/directions that come from the central government in Delhi,” he added.