SHILLONG, Jan 30: A day after the NPP said it would save Meghalaya from the “evil design” of the TMC to fill the state with “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh, the state TMC on Monday hit back at the NPP accusing it of favouring Bangladeshis by supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Slamming the NPP and BJP for their “propaganda” against the TMC, Meghalaya TMC youth president Fernandez S Dkhar reminded Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s party of how it betrayed the tribal people by backing the CAA.
“Those branding us as pro-Bangladeshi supported the CAA in 2019. In West Bengal, our chairperson Mamata Banerjee led a huge protest against the law which is against the tribals. It is amusing to see the NPP claiming we are in favour of Bangladeshis,” he said.
Dkhar said the NPP favours Bangladeshis because the whole idea behind the CAA is to bring persecuted minorities from Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries into India. “It was not TMC but the NPP that voted for the CAA,” he added.
He also said both the BJP and NPP are hand in glove in Meghalaya.
Dkhar also targeted the NPP-led state government for failing to resolve issues ailing the education sector.
“The MDA talks about double-engine government but hasn’t been able to increase the salaries of the SSA teachers,” he said.
“The BJP and NPP should stop asking for another chance to bring development. They had five years but did not do anything,” he said.
Slamming BJP’s failure to deliver on its promises, Dkhar said: “Before coming to power, PM Narendra Modi had promised 2 crore jobs for the country. It has been nearly 10 years but our youths are still lagging behind in terms of getting jobs. Our promise is not like PM Modi’s promise. We will fulfil our pledges. Within two weeks of forming the government, we will implement the WE Card scheme as committed by our leaders.”
Dkhar, who is also the TMC candidate from the Rambrai-Jyrngam constituency, said: “Some NPP leaders said that if we give financial assistance to our women and youth under these schemes, we would have to sell the state. But Meghalaya TMC is not like the NPP or BJP. We won’t sell our state as they have done on the border issue.”
