Conrad slams Ao for ‘begging bowl’ comment

SHILLONG, Nov 21: Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma on Sunday hit back at BJP national vice president and Meghalaya in-charge, M Chuba Ao for his “begging bowl” comment.
Sangma said Ao’s remark lowered his own people and showed them in a bad light.
“These regional parties with national outlook have one agenda – go to Delhi with a begging bowl. What they do with it after returning is an open secret,” Ao had stated in a veiled attack on the National People’s Party (NPP) that Sangma heads.
The CM said he had no idea why the BJP leader made the statement. BJP and NPP are allies.
“The BJP national vice president himself is from the Northeast. He has full knowledge about how things work from here. It is really unfortunate that he made a comparison,” Sangma told reporters.
He pointed out that the states receive majority of the funds from the Centre.
Reacting to Ao’s other remarks, he said it is wrong to say the state did nothing with the central funds. He asked Ao to visit the state and see the work on the ground.
Sangma said there was a time when Meghalaya would spend only Rs 600 crore on MGNREGA but now, it is spending nearly Rs 1,500 crore.
“As regards NRLM projects, we used to spend only Rs 10 crore but presently, we are spending over Rs 100 crore,” he said.
The CM said Meghalaya is one of the few states which received bonus money last year from the Jal Jeevan Mission for spending all budgetary allocations and for its ability to meet targets.
“Therefore, I strongly feel he (Ao) has not done his homework. He is just trying to make a political statement,” Sangma said.
He said a senior politician like Ao should speak with facts.