SHILLONG, June 29: All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday appealed to the people of Meghalaya to uproot the state’s “proxy” BJP government.
He assured them that if the AITC is voted to power, the state will not be ruled from West Bengal.
He exuded confidence the AITC would form the next government in the state. He said the party would contest all 60 seats in next year’s Assembly elections to achieve that goal.
Banerjee, who inaugurated the AITC office in Shillong, said the party forayed into Meghalaya to do some serious work.
On the notion that it is a “Bengal party”, he said the opposition parties will do their job. He said the Congress was founded in Maharashtra but it does not mean it is a Marathi party.
“Ours is a national party and there are only 6 or 7 national parties in the country out of the 1,700-odd political parties. We are a national party with regional ethos,” Banerjee said, adding although the AITC comes from West Bengal, Meghalaya will not be ruled from that state.
He dared BJP leaders to come and say on record that Meghalaya will not be ruled from Delhi, Gujarat or Madhya Pradesh.
Stating that the 12 MLAs wanted to take on the proxy BJP government and a platform was missing, Banerjee claimed the AITC is the only party which has not cowed down to the BJP and is taking the BJP head on.
Asked about several MLAs planning to ditch the AITC, he said elections are fought on principles and if some MLAs cannot align with the values and ideology of the party, they are free to go anywhere.
On the various charges of corruption in Meghalaya, Banerjee said the “the abode of clouds” has been turned into a haven of corrupts despite the BJP talking about the double engine model of governance and the NPP-led MDA government and Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma being parts of the NDA at the Centre.
He said although it is early but the AITC is open to a pre-poll alliance with like-minded political parties.
AITC doesn’t believe in ‘token representation’
On the presidential election, Banerjee said the AITC is not supporting NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu as it does not believe in “token representation”. He was reacting to a query on supporting a tribal leader.
(Contd on P-4)
Uproot M’laya’s proxy BJP govt…
(Contd from P-1) “We will not support something which is not ethical. We had a Scheduled Caste President but did he ever utter a word when Unnao and Lakhimpur Kheri incidents occurred?” Banerjee asked.
Further, he asked as to why the President of India was not invited when the foundation was laid for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
“They (BJP) need to address the problems faced by SCs and STs. Why is the BJP cutting down on ST quota for scholarships?” he asked.
He also said that BJP-ruled states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh top the chart in crime against ST women and children.
“Let BJP come out and say all cases against the STs will come down to zero and then, we will support their candidate,” he said.
