SHILLONG, June 18: The Meghalaya Trinamool Congress has slammed the “step-motherly attitude” of the BJP government at the Centre toward the Northeast due to its political insignificance in Parliament.
The party said the Centre only pacifies the region because of its strategic importance and proximity to China and Myanmar.
“Every functionary at the national level has always second-rated the NE. For example, the Centre has hardly blinked over the situation in Manipur. Same is the case with our long-pending issues such as the inner-line permit (ILP) and the (Khasi) language,” TMC vice-president George B. Lyngdoh said on Sunday.
He was reacting to a recent statement by BJP national secretary, Sunil Deodhar denying knowledge about the demand for the implementation of the ILP in Meghalaya.
Stating that there is a gap between the demands and the response of the government, Lyngdoh said, “Their approach is step-motherly because politically we are lightweights.”
Lyngdoh said Meghalaya has gained nothing from the visits of the Prime Minister and other ministers except for “hundreds of cars” behind them and “wastage of precious time, energy, and money”.
The central leaders do not reciprocate even a fraction of the respect they get from the Northeast, he said.
Such an attitude of the Centre will only elicit hatred and misunderstanding and the people would not be drawn to a constitution that binds everyone, he said.
Lyngdoh said the size of a state and the number of MPs should not be factors for the Centre not to give the federal respect the states in the region deserve. “We must stand united despite our diversity and move towards a politically balanced system,” he said.
The KSU, which is spearheading the demand for the implementation of the ILP, termed Deodhar’s statement as an insult to the aspirations and sentiments of the people of Meghalaya and a reflection of the BJP’s indifference to the state.
“It shows that they do not have any concern for the long-pending core issues of the state. It is a childish statement by the national secretary of the BJP since the state government has passed a resolution. If he does not know anything about the ILP being demanded since 1987, what is the use of him visiting Meghalaya?” KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar said.
“It shows they are least concerned about our need for a mechanism like ILP to address the issue of illegal immigrants in the state,” he said.
“I think the state BJP leaders briefed these national leaders. If he still says he knows nothing about the ILP, it means he has no concern for the sentiments and aspirations of the people,” he added.
Marngar said the KSU has been pursuing the ILP issue and the onus is on the state government to push the Centre for its implementation.
