Ronnie targets regional parties on citizenship bill

SHILLONG: Former Cabinet minister Ronnie V Lyngdoh has accused the regional of not taking a stand on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
Lyngdoh said the district councils were created to protect the interest of the indigenous people of Meghalaya but “the idea of issuing work permit to Bangladeshi citizens and CAB is contrary to the Sixth Schedule”. The senior Congress leader was referring to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s proposal to issue work permit to Bangladeshis.
The statement came from Lyngdoh a day after the UDP senior leader, Allantry Dkhar accused the Congress of running a misinformation campaign.
He said the party is telling people that they have only two choices, the Congress and BJP, because all the regional parties in Meghalaya are shadow of the saffron party.
“There is no doubt about it. Before elections, they denied having links with BJP but everything became crystal clear after the elections,” Lyngdoh said.
Stating that the regional parties in the state are agents of BJP, Lyngdoh said when the issue of CAB was raked up, none of the regional parties and their MLAs took a stand like AGP in Assam where they dared to come out of the BJP-led alliance and even their ministers resigned. “The regional parties here only did a lip service and they clung onto power. They should remember that deeds speak louder than words,” he said, adding that the people of Meghalaya will soon give a befitting reply to the regional parties.