SHILLONG, June 14: The job reservation policy and the roster system, Harijan Colony issue, the boundary dispute with Assam, and illegal coal mining and transportation troubled the NPP-led MDA 2.0 government during its first 100 days.
The opposition bench has been keeping track, waiting to seize any opportunity to corner the government. They observed that the NPP-led government had “faltered” on several key issues.
The Voice of the People Party (VPP) said the first 100 days of the MDA 2.0 underlined its ineptitude in handling critical issues and reluctance to be transparent and accountable.
“The government seemed uninterested in its own programmes and schemes. We experience the worst power cuts, wastage of public money on renovation and honorarium for scores of political appointees,” VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh told The Shillong Times.
He said the government also failed to look into the problems of students appearing for the CUET, forcing them to go to distant places for the tests incurring huge expenditures.
“Many of them are unable to appear for the test due to financial constraints and related reasons. The education minister shows no sign of being capable to handle his department and a recent report on high school dropout rate is a matter of concern,” he said.
Myrboh also said the government created a dubious history with the shortest-ever budget session of six days. “This proves that it desires to make the legislature irrelevant to avoid accountability,” he added.
“The government has proven itself to be weak and even talking about the need for a review of the job reservation policy was projected by it as an attempt to bring communal riot. Further, the government has contempt for the poor both in its policies and statements,” he said.
The VPP leader said people expected the government to make its pre-poll programmes like FOCUS and FOCUS+ more effective to improve the economy. “But the government is not even taking any interest to find out the effectiveness of its own programmes,” he said
The TMC called out the state government for not having a common minimum programme (CMP), giving a clean chit to itself on alleged scams and failing to provide jobs, water, and power.
“It was expected that the CMP would be prepared for drawing the roadmap to take the state forward,” TMC vice-president George B. Lyngdoh said.
The CMP has acquired significance since coalition governments have become the norm in India.
Stating that the MDA 2.0 is just a repetition of the MDA, he said: “Everybody wanted to be a minister without a common minimum programme.”
He also slammed the government for burying the alleged rice, coke, Saubhagya, and smart meter scams among others. The government has been indifferent to the high court exposing its connivance with coal smugglers, he pointed out.
Congress Legislature party leader and newly-elected Opposition Leader, Ronnie V. Lyngdoh was not very critical of the MDA.
“I don’t think it would be fair to judge the MDA 2.0 in a hundred days,” leader of the opposition, Lyngdoh told The Shillong Times, admitting Conrad K. Sangma has a better team than the one for the MDA.
“I am not trying to undermine the previous government,” he added, insisting that the government needs to be given at least 12 months for a proper assessment.
The UDP, an ally of the NPP in the MDA 2.0 Government, has commended the government for having identified the priority areas in the first 100 days since coming to power.
“100 days is too early to rate the performance of the MDA 2.0. But I hope that those in the government are able to grasp the core problems,” UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh said.
He summed up the priorities for the government by stating that the there are two areas that need attention — one is to prepare a better roadmap for the state and the second is to address the long-pending problems faced by the state.
Stating that properly diagnosing the problems can lead to solutions, he said, “Urban congestion, water crisis, and power outages are some of the major issues that require immediate intervention. Also there are challenges in the education sector, healthcare and unemployment.”
“We need to put our heads together to ensure that we move in the right direction for a better future for our children and the coming generations,” he added.
