SHILLONG, Feb 12: Several BJP leaders on Sunday called Congress a “wolf in a sheep’s skin” a day after the latter said the former is an ethnic threat to Meghalaya.
A few BJP leaders said the charge holds no water.
BJP legislator, Alexander L. Hel said Congress is insulting the indigenous people through such a demeaning discourse.
“The BJP respects the mandate of the people in its entirety. In my experience, Congress has been a party singularly focused on subjugating the people and filling their coffers in doing so,” he said.
Recalling the “dark” days of Congress rule in the state, Hek said the BJP had proven its credentials through the delivery of promises at the Centre and in different states and it is now time for Meghalaya to experience the much-deserved growth and prosperity under a BJP-led government.
Echoing similar views, BJP spokesperson Mariahom Kharkrang said Congress has nothing to say against BJP.
Recalling an instance, he said he has not heard of any MP adopting a village in Meghalaya but one of the BJP MPs adopted Kongthong village and now it is known to the world and even the culture of the people there is being showcased.
“There is no merit in their allegations as they have lost all issues to talk against the party,” Kharkrang said.
The party also termed the Congress campaign in the state as a mockery of the people.
BJP national general secretary, Tarun Chugh said this is neither unexpected nor new while alleging that Congress has always treated the Northeast in a stepmotherly fashion. He claimed it was only after the formation of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government that the Centre started focusing on this region and laid special emphasis on its development.
Reacting to the promises made by Congress, Chugh said Congress has recently adopted the Sri Lankan model of bankruptcy and as an experiment, it wants to implement it in Meghalaya.
“The clouds of unemployment, of backwardness and the clouds that have chained Meghalaya and prevented it from moving forward – are all gifts from Congress that the state did not want,” he said while adding that most of the relevant promises Congress has made are those that PM is already providing to the state and the country.
“The Congress leaders consider themselves entitled and elite, and they come down from their ivory towers to meet the people only once in five years,” he said.
Continuing his attack on Congress, Chugh said: “This is the same party that had the Law of Asylum as part of their manifesto and wanted to legalise all Bangladeshis through this law. The Congress party is a pack of dangerous fang-bearing wolves who want to attack the unsuspecting people of Meghalaya by donning sheepskin. They are the pioneers of divide and rule, and they grab power by keeping the common people underdeveloped, disempowered, and dependent. Ethnicity, religion, and identity are just some weapons in Congress’s armoury that it uses to confine the people. The BJP, on the other hand, is the only party that truly seeks to preserve, record, and promote the local traditions and cultures of all people.”
