By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 15: One of the aspirants of BJP ticket for upcoming Lok Sabha polls, senior advocate Fenela L Nonglait, has decided not to contest at all if denied a party ticket.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Nonglait posited that she does not want the vote of the people to be wasted by contesting as an independent candidate.
Taking a dig at Shillong MP Vincent Pala, Nonglait, who has eyes trained on the Shillong parliamentarian seat, asked Pala to give way to better leaders, who will raise their voice on pertinent matters in the Parliament.
If she persists and wins the polls, of course, after being allotted the party ticket, some of the issues that she is looking forward to take up at the central level are the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya and inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule among others.
She also mentioned that she had joined the saffron party since it is a prerequisite to be eligible for the ticket. She was categorical in stating that she was not brainwashed into joining the BJP.
Nonglait has decided to go to the people in Khasi-Jaintia Hills region explaining her stand to the electorates since the party is expected to take some time in declaring the recipients of the tickets.
Away from mainstream politics for a decade, Nonglait was previously associated with HSPDP and she later joined the Congress.
On the interstate boundary talks between Meghalaya and Assam government, Nonglait said the only way to come to a permanent solution is to resolve the issue through political will and not by way of a legal solution. “The move to file a case in the court is not a right move since it is going to take much time. When we have the option to resolve through political will, why we should approach the court,” she said.
On the agreement arrived at following the first phase of talks on six out of 12 areas of differences, she said that former Assam Chief Minister and Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal had told her that the pact can always be revisited, if the people are unhappy. She also argued that the laws with regard to land rights adhered to by the Khasis are unique and should not be interfered into by the central government.
She pointed out that if the Land Acquisition Act is passed, it will take precedence over the state’s Land Transfer Act. Nonglait added that precautions must be taken.