SHILLONG, Nov 22: In the face NPP’s stern message to it, the State BJP has retorted that it will continue to raise issues of corruption in the state until justice is delivered through Court or an independent investigation and that it is doing it on its own without any connivance with any other political party or force and it would be the BJP who will end the issue.
“BJP has raised all the issues alone and taking it forward alone. We are not working with any other political party or forces. It is the BJP who has raised the issue and it is BJP who will end the issue,” said BJP vice president, Bernard Marak while reacting to the allegations leveled by the NPP that the State BJP is working in connivance with other political force to hit on the state government by raising various issues time and again.
Clarifying the allegations, Marak said, “BJP is raising this issue after understanding the problem faced by the people be it the district council, electricity bill or coal”.
Alleging that coal is being transported and mined illegal but people are not allowed to do it legally, Marak said, “It is done secretly through certain channels. Why does not the government take a stand to allow all to do it so that everybody earns a little bit of whatever they are working on. This is the problem”.
On NPP making it clear that they will not call the State BJP for the MDA coordination committee meeting which was slated after the Assembly session to discuss the issue raised by the BJP, Marak said, “The NPP declaring that they will not invite BJP for the MDA meeting is totally senseless because the entire corruption issue was raised by BJP and without BJP how are they going to sort out the problem”.
Accusing the NPP of backstabbing the BJP, Marak said, “On one hand they were asking the BJP to come for talks while on the other hand they were busy complaining to BJP leaders in Delhi about the state party leaders”.
“They did this in order to cover up their rampant corruption which the public are criticising them for. Sadly, money and power is all that matter to them”.
Stating that governance is not only about those people occupying the highest chair but also about those people and their welfare, Marak said, “If the people are not looked after by those elected and if they are only concerned about their own benefit it is a total failure and that is why it is our duty to raise the issue and sort it out”.
It may be mentioned that Rajya Sabha MP and NPP State president, WR Kharlukhi had on Saturday declared that they will not call the State BJP for the MDA coordination committee meeting anymore to discuss the issue raised by the BJP as was the plan earlier.
The State BJP had earlier alleged rampant corruption in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) and had demanded a CBI investigation into it.
After much verbal exchanges on the issue between the BJP and the NPP led MDA coalition and the BJP way of raising the issue by going to the media and not using the MDA coordination committee forum, both had agreed to discuss the issue out in the MDA coordination committee meeting schedule after the Assembly session.
After a lull of few weeks the State BJP had recently approached the Lokayukta for a CBI probe into the alleged GHADC and JHADC corruption issue and also decided to call on the Ministry of Home Affairs for the same.
Following this, the president of the NPP State Unit declared that they will not invite the BJP anymore for discussion and accused them of conniving with other political forces to hit on the State government.