SHILLONG, Feb 9: While the BJP has promised to institute a CBI inquiry into all cases of corruption under the NPP-led MDA government within six months if they form the government, the Congress party on the other hand wants to convert Meghalaya into a corruption-free state while avoiding any sort of “witch hunt” as existing laws are already in place to deal with people involved in corruption.
MPCC president Vincent H Pala on Thursday released the Congress manifesto that promises to make Meghalaya a “5-star” state through five commitments, one of which is to make the state corruption-free.
“If they are corrupt, the law will take its own course and existing laws are enough to deal with all these things,” Pala said, without refraining from naming any party or individual.
Talking about the second commitment, AICC general secretary in-charge of Meghalaya, Manish Chatrath said if they form the government in the state, they have plans of coming up with some laws to check corruption that would be as good as or even better than the RTI Act.
He did not share any details but added that the new law designed by the Congress would mandate successive governments to upload all files related to development and infrastructure on government portals six months after their closure to bring in more transparency and to reduce corruption.
The party’s third commitment is to ensure direct transfer of Rs 3,000 per month to single BPL mothers. “This will empower women by giving them financial independence and help them run their house better. Rs 3,000 per month translates into Rs 36,000 a year which is a substantial amount and will help the mothers pay the school fees of their children and tame inflation,” Pala said.
The fourth commitment is to provide one job to a deserving candidate from every household in the state. “Lack of decent employment opportunities in the state has fuelled the desperation amongst our youngsters and they are compelled to migrate to far-flung cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to make both ends meet,” Pala said.
Chatrath took a pot-shot at the NPP-BJP led MDA government and said that the incumbent regime did nothing constructive to channelise the youth energy in the right direction.
“Law and order in Meghalaya was the first victim of the poor governance given by the NPP-BJP coalition. Large-scale unemployment amongst the youth made them gullible and smuggling of all kinds of drugs from across the border worsened the situation,” Chatrath said.
The party also said its fifth commitment would be providing uninterrupted and regular electricity supply to all commercial and domestic users as long power cuts have affected the production and revenue of the entrepreneurs in the state while it also had a negative impact on learnings and growth of kids who fail to study their courses in dark due to load-shedding.
