Pyngrope sees dearth of youths to lead Meghalaya in future

SHILLONG, Aug 20: Trinamool Congress state president Charles Pyngrope on Saturday said the generation of people in their thirties should rule Meghalaya but there is a dearth of the youth joining politics in the state.
“There is no one to be found and I want the educated to come. Unless you have the young educated, how will you get a different vision for the state?” Pyngrope said.
“We are set in our ideas. For us, it is difficult to change at this age but for the youth, it is possible,” he added.
Talking about finding candidates for next year’s Assembly elections, he disclosed that the TMC has covered 24 of the 36 constituencies in Khasi-Jaintia Hills. At the same time however, he added that it is a very different kind of a situation in Meghalaya.
He recalled that when he was the Congress’ Manipur in-charge, the party had five to six ticket aspirants in every constituency. “Here, it is not like that. Even if you pull them out of the house, drag, beat and threaten them, they will not come,” he said.
“Something is acting as a deterrent. I should have retired by now but there is no one to take your place. It should change. The youth should come forward,” he said.
Stating that he was aged 42 years when he became a minister, he said, “I was 42 and that is actually quite old. Thirty should be the generation to rule the state. They are all educated, have a vision and the urge to serve which is more important.”
Stating that one of the frequently-asked questions is about finance vis-à-vis fighting elections, he said, “Why don’t you try without finance? If you are sincere, people will follow you and it is a very small percentage of the population who will vote for you if you give them certain perks and facilities but not everybody.”
On reports about TMC leaders leaving the party, he reiterated, “As of now, I have not received any official written communication indicating they will be leaving but it is anybody’s wish. You cannot stop them.”
He said more and more people are joining the TMC.