From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, July 26: Some Meghalaya Trinamool Congress MLAs, who staged a protest demonstration outside Parliament on Tuesday, demanded the scrapping of the state’s border agreement with Assam after claiming that it is “flawed”.
The legislators, led by former chief minister Mukul Sangma, also castigated the Meghalaya government for alleged massive corruption and all-round failure in governance.
Addressing a press conference, Sangma said since Meghalaya comes under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the tribal villagers of the state, as well as Assam, should have been consulted prior to the signing of the boundary pact.
“We are trying hard to make Government of India take cognisance of the sentiments of the people of the state and scrap the border agreement,” he said as he was flanked by party leader Derek O’Brien.
“The agreement does not acknowledge the sentiments of the people and hence, it must be repealed,” Sangma insisted.
He accused Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma of indulging in massive corruption and failing on the law and order front.
The Trinamool leader claimed that at least a dozen militant groups have been active in the state under the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) but there was none during his eight-year regime.
“There have been scams, one after the other, but no one is trying to find out the culprit, let alone giving punishment. Vital social welfare sectors, such as health and education, have come to a standstill because of poor governance,” Sangma claimed.
He pilloried the MDA also for allegedly allowing unlawful and anti-social activities. He cited the case of state BJP vice president Bernard Marak.
On the police’s claim that Marak was running his farmhouse as a “brothel”, Sangma asked what the government was doing all these years and why the police had not taken action for such a long time.
He claimed the youth in Meghalaya are today a frustrated lot. “Drugs are available aplenty and the government is trying to legalise gambling in a traditional tribal state,” Sangma said.
The brothel discovered is the tip of the iceberg, he claimed.
“If the government is sincere, it can uncover many such problems,” he said, adding that the NPP and the BJP are accusing each other over the Bernard case although they are partners in the MDA.
He demanded the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution stating that it will assuage the feelings of the ethnic groups about being left behind after independence.
The party’s Meghalaya chief Charles Pyngrope, Zenith Sangma, Dikkanchi D Shira and George B Lyngdoh were the other MLAs who had participated in the protest demonstration.