Abhishek Banerjee’s statement draws flak

SHILLONG, Nov 19: National People’s Party (NPP) state president WR Kharlukhi came down heavily on Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday for the latter’s claims that the late Purno Agitok Sangma was a candidate of the Mamata Banerjee-led party during the Presidential elections in 2012.
“Is he fibbing or fooling himself? He should stand corrected as the TMC never supported him (Sangma) for the Presidential elections,” Kharlukhi, also a Rajya Sabha member, said.
Banerjee had on Friday hit out at rival political parties for labelling the TMC in Meghalaya as a party of “outsiders”. He said those who are saying it should remember that son of the soil – PA Sangma – was a candidate of the TMC during the Presidential elections in 2012.
But Kharlukhi said, “The late PA Sangma was supported by the BJP in the Presidential elections and in West Bengal, out of the 278 MLAs, 275 had voted for Pranab Mukherjee.”
The NPP state president said one expects Banerjee, who spoke about bringing change, to know at least about what had happened politically in 2012.
“If he is getting the facts about political stalwarts of the state like the late PA Sangma wrong, what more can be expected from him and his party?” Kharlukhi said, adding it shows how much Banerjee claims and what he actually knows about Meghalaya.
Banerjee had made the statement addressing a rally at the New Tura playground of Tura Law College.
It was one of the biggest rallies by any political party in the western part of the state. Over 25,000 people from across Garo Hills had flocked to the venue to catch a glimpse of the TMC leaders, including Banerjee.