NPP attacks Cong over saffron tag

TURA: The National People’s Party (NPP) has come down heavily on the Congress for branding the party the BJP’s Team-B.
“It is indeed unfortunate that Congress MP Sushmita Dev on Sunday attacked Conrad Sangma by saying he is a puppet of the BJP and the RSS. She had said Conrad should first go to his nearest church, put his hand on the Bible and swear that he will not tie up with the BJP at any level. This statement is tantamount to a slap on the face of all the people of Meghalaya that she can quantify our religious beliefs to nothing more than an election gimmick. Such statements are no better than statements by anti-secular elements,” said NPP state president WR Kharlukhi in a statement.
He questioned how Dev could violate the sanctity of the Holy Bible and the religious institution of Christians “for mere political mileage” and said the Congress lacks ambition to work towards the important issues in the state.
“The fact that she or the Congress has refused to retract the statement or apologise can only be viewed as an insult to our religious beliefs as well as our way of life,” said Kharlukhi.
The NPP state chief reminded that the NPP is a party with its own ideology imbued with a vision to unite the North-East and look after the welfare of tribals.
“To state that the NPP is working with the BJP is a clear indication of a lack of focus on behalf of certain parties with regard to recognising important issues concerning the state. In a multi-party political system such as India, parties have to work together even if they are in the opposition. But this does not mean that the NPP will follow suit with all policies of the central government. Conrad Sangma, as Member of Parliament, was the first to oppose the Good Governance Day celebrated on Christmas Day,” clarified the NPP in its statement.
Vision document
Meanwhile, the NPP will release its People’s Document at a public meeting in Jowai at 11 am on Thursday. Conrad is flying in from Tura by chopper and along with Prestone Tynsong, Sniawbhalang Dhar, Comingone Ymbon, Kharlukhi and other former MLAs, MDCs and senior party members will jointly release the party’s vision document.