Editor,
I watched the local online news channels yesterday where the Meghalaya BJP President, Ernest Mawrie is finding fault with the FOCUS and PRIME programmes initiated by the NPP-led MDA Government of which the BJP is an integral part. This means that the BJP too can distribute the same freebies to it’s constituents if it wishes to. In fact, Conrad Sangma must be praised for having the political acumen to distribute all these freebies since the past six months or so. Now people are used to getting free money so they will definitely vote the NPP back to power. There is no doubt about that. Who doesn’t want money that is not accounted for? The BJP President claims that the NPP is using the resources pumped in by the Modi Government and therefore cannot claim credit for the schemes. Mawrie should know that all the money in the public treasury comes from tax payers and from GST apart from other revenue channels to which the states are also entitled to get their share in a federal system.
This blame game being played among the coalition partners at the fag end of the MDA government fools no one. The BJP is as much to be blamed for all the scams in the past five years just as it will also earn praise for what the MDA government has achieved. So the BJP and its cohorts should not take the voting public of Meghalaya to be so dim-witted that they can be fooled again and again.
The Meghalaya BJP President also gave a press briefing about the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh as if people don’t know how to judge the election results without him educating us. He of course did not speak about the MCD polls in Delhi which the AAP swept. And when asked as to how the BJP can keep blaming the MDA government of which it is a part and why the Party is not pulling out, Mawrie has nothing of substance to say. Even the question about BJP naming its candidates was answered in an equivocal manner. At one time we used to blame the Congress for the High Command culture. Now the State BJP here too has to wait for the High Command to name the candidates.
Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong is quite right when he says that the BJP keeps barking but does not bite. If you ask me, most people find the BJP in Meghalaya to be quite leaderless. Those who are capable of leading the Party are not visible. Sometime ago a retired Indian Forest Service officer was named as the Spokesperson of the BJP but we never hear him briefing the press regularly and in a more informed manner. Even AL Hek seems to have taken a backseat and is not seen at press briefings. It does not look as if all is well in the Meghalaya BJP. While Bernard Marak and other BJP members in Garo Hills seem to be making strides, in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills that is far from happening. It is amusing therefore to hear Mawrie claiming that BJP will form the Government in Meghalaya in 2023. That is at best a pipe dream. Politicians are expected to back up their claims with concrete examples because we the people are not fools to be taken for a ride.
Yours etc.,
John R Nengnong,
Via email
Election results signs of a mature democracy
Editor,
Results of the recent elections are an indicator of a mature democracy. In a mature democracy there is no place for caste, creed or religion. Only development matters along with national interest and integrity of the country. In Gujarat how electioneering was vitiated by using unparliamentary language is in bad taste. In Uttar Pradesh to pay respect to late Mulayam Singh there should had been unopposed election but his daughter in law Dimple Yadav won the election comfortably. Janata Dal(U) lost the election which is a lesson for Nitish Kumar who has the habit of changing political alignments. Rampur seat was won by BJP with huge margin which testifies that action taken against Azam Khan was correct and it is a lesson for other politicians also not to use unparliamentary language in politics. In the Municipal Corporation election of Delhi the message is very clear. The public is tired of corruption by BJP corporators. As far as the Congress Party is concerned it is time of introspection as to why the party failed miserably in Gujarat. Results in Gujarat indicate that BJP will easily win the parliament elections in 2024 if the opposition parties fail to come together as a united front. The Congress has won the elections in Himachal Pradesh but the state has only four parliamentary seats and voters have a different approach for the parliament elections. We have the example of Delhi where BJP had won all the seats in parliament in 2014 and 2019 whereas in the assembly elections AAP won with a thumping majority. AAP is now a national party and it is gradually being considered as a natural replacement for the Congress party. In fact, it will definitely dent the prospects of the Congress party everywhere where it contests the 2024 elections. Finally we can say that the election results have changed the entire political scenario and also proved that our country is a mature democracy.
Yours etc.,
Yash Pal Ralhan,
Jalandhar – 03