TMC, NPP continue to trade barbs as polls draw nearer

SHILLONG, Oct 25: The ruling National People’s Party and the opposition Trinamool Congress have intensified the exchange of barbs with the Assembly elections drawing near.
Picking holes in the accusation of corruption by opposition chief whip George B. Lyngdoh, NPP state president and Rajya Sabha member W.R. Kharlukhi said on Tuesday: “A statement made without any fact or evidence is a lie.”
Reminding that the people’s rally against corruption in 2002 did not stand the scrutiny of the court, he said the TMC does not dare go to court because it has no evidence to substantiate the charges.
“This is nothing by a mischievous propaganda by the TMC,” he added.
Kharlukhi slammed Lyngdoh for saying he attacks the opposition to divert attention from the NPP-led government’s failures. “A turncoat and a betrayer of the people’s mandate will not know what loyalty is,” he said.
“In 2018, the people elected 20 MLAs from Congress, but these people defected to the TMC. The TMC has come through the backdoor and is yet to be tested and such people are called chameleons,” Kharlukhi said.
He did not rule out the possibility of “such people” with “no discipline” defecting to another party for better opportunities after they are elected in 2023.
“We are answerable to the people and not to a few desperate disgruntled political elements,” he said.
The TMC has been attacking the NPP for allegedly indulging in corruption and illegal activities.
The NPP, true to its symbol, has written a book on corruption with several chapters on how to milk various government departments, the TMC said.