SHILLONG, Feb 10: TMC on Friday trained its gun on the NPP government over the latter’s failure to check illegal mining and transportation in the state saying Meghalaya High Court’s directive on the deployment of central forces to curb the menace bears testimony to the state government’s apathy towards the matter.
Meghalaya TMC president Charles Pyngrope, who raked up the issue, said the state police should hide its face in shame for its failure to deal with the menace.
Reacting to a query about the recent High Court order, Pyngrope said, “Meghalaya Police has failed to ensure illegal coal mining and its transportation. The task they were supposed to execute as the guardians of the law will now be taken over by the paramilitary forces which do not belong to the state.”
When asked if the state police would dare to act against illegal coal mining and transportation, he said, “Once you have put on a uniform, it is your sole duty to serve and uphold the constitution. Obviously, you cannot go against the rules. Coal mining is illegal and how can you allow it?”
Earlier, he said that the deployment of central paramilitary forces to stop the illegal transportation of coal is a clear reminder of the state government’s negligence despite the High Court’s directive to do so.
“This is not merely contempt of court but also a total failure of law and order in the state,” he said.
The party also tore into other political parties for failing to raise Meghalaya’s voice in the Parliament when TMC leaders remained steadfast in their commitment towards the state.
Apart from Charles Pyngrope, TMC’s Rajya Sabha member, Derek O’Brien, also slammed the MDA coalition for its alleged multiple transgressions including rice scam, smart meter scam, police vehicle scam, and the infamous Assembly dome collapse among other issues.
The leaders also held a screening of the Parliament speeches of Trinamool MPs over various issues of Meghalaya such as the inclusion of the Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, attack on Christian institutions, scams in Meghalaya, illegal coal mining and lack of development in Meghalaya and the Northeast.
Elaborating on the parliamentary proceedings of the last session, O’Brien said, “We made it a point to raise every issue of Meghalaya in the Parliament. We can say this with all the humility and pride that TMC delivers what it preaches. What were the other national parties doing in the Parliament, which saw proceedings for 10 days? I challenge other national and regional parties to show you two minutes of any of their MPs raising a single issue of Meghalaya. Nobody did. We didn’t do Meghalaya any favour. It was our duty to raise these serious issues and we will continue to do the same.”
It may be mentioned that O’Brien had demanded accountability from the Centre in the Parliament and asked about the lack of development in Meghalaya and other Northeastern states despite announcing Rs 7,000 crore allocations for the region.
The TMC leader also raised issues of several instances of graft in Meghalaya including the smart meter scam, rice scam, and the police vehicle scam. O’Brien also highlighted that the under-construction dome of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly that crashed last year was built by Uttar Pradesh Nirman Nigam Ltd.
He also raised the issue of attacks on Christian institutions besides the matter of the inclusion of Khasi and Garo language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
