SHILLONG, Aug 26: In the wake of NPP state president and Rajya Sabha member, WR Kharlukhi, throwing doubt on the role played by the Congress to uplift the state when it was in power, the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) has now argued that it is only for people to decide if the Congress has made contributions for the betterment of the state.
Kharlukhi on Tuesday had accused the Congress of doing nothing in its political capacity during its regime for the development of the state. “What has the Congress done besides talking big in almost 50 years since our statehood? The ILP demand was there when I was a student in 1979 but Congress did nothing. At least, we had the courage to pass it in the House and we are going to pursue it because we are very clear on the ILP unlike Congress,” Kharlukhi said.
Vexed over the allegations, MPYC general secretary, Fernandez S Dkhar, on Thursday launched a tirade of personal attacks on Kharlukhi, and said that the NPP state president was rewarded with the Rajya Sabha seat for being ‘loyal’ and spewing ‘meaningless rhetorics’.
“It is a fact that he was rewarded with the Rajya Sabha seat for being loyal and spewing meaningless rhetorics. As far as public memory goes, there is hardly relevant record of him speaking constructively on any issue that benefits the people. Even after being elected to the Rajya Sabha for more than a year, we are yet to hear him speak inside the Parliament. So, he has already enjoyed being an MP on public expense without any visible benefits for more than a year,” he said, adding, “We urge him to work hard for the people and not only to please his political masters”.
Accusing the NPP and the BJP of “sponsoring” the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Dkhar said, “We feel that not only ILP but even the MRSSA and several other legislations should be brought to protect the future of our people. Kharlukhi, on the other hand, should also take the responsibility of being one of the fathers of the CAA from Meghalaya.”
Flagging various issues during the NPP regime that continue to plague Meghalaya, the MPYC also questioned the MP’s stand on the issue of illegal coke plants and transportation of coal, deaths of coal labourers, Saubhagya and rice scams, COVID-19 relief that was reportedly not received by the labourers, the 1,000-crore COVID-19 expenses, reported non-availability of Advanced Life Support ambulances after every three months, power dues for industries and unpaid taxes of petrol pumps, the dwindling of quality education, frequent load-shedding and internet shutdown, rising crime against women and children, prevailing law and order situation in the state, et al.
“Perhaps, he also needs to understand the tenets of parliamentary democracy that prevails in our country. He needs to refresh his knowledge of history that it was the voice of the people, the efforts of the numerous leaders of the country, especially of the Congress party, to build the Constitution of our country, by virtue of which he is now a Member of Parliament,” Dkhar said.
On Kharlukhi’s remarks that “at least we had the courage to pass it (ILP resolution) in the House and we are going to pursue it because we are very clear on the ILP unlike Congress”, the MPYC general secretary said that the resolution on ILP was a “unanimous decision of all the MLAs”.
“It is shocking to see that as a Member of Parliament, he is yet to understand that the ILP resolution passed in the Meghalaya Assembly on 19th December 2019 was a collective and unanimous decision of all the MLAs,” Dkhar said.
