BATTLEGROUND SHILLONG
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 13: Independent candidate Peter Challam, a lawyer by profession, is banking on conscience votes in the “educated” Shillong parliamentary seat where he is contesting from.
He is up against candidates from parties which are rich in terms of power and organisational strength.
“The Shillong seat consists of a 75 per cent literate population. The voters can choose a good candidate with their sensible mind,” Challam told reporters on Saturday replying to a query.
Stating that he is reaching out to the public through various mediums of communications, he said, “Now that the ball is in the court of the people, they can choose the right candidate with their wisdom and observations.”
He said if elected, he will raise the pending issues of the state in Parliament with vigour and strength.
He said the demand for the implementation of Inner Line Permit, the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and the state’s boundary disputes with Assam are some of the issues pending for the past many years.
Challam said apart from these, he will highlight the issues concerning health, education, unemployment, connectivity, safety and security of every citizen of the state during his poll campaign.
“The Shillong parliamentary seat consists of 36 Assembly constituencies and it has a rich fabric and history. As it needs a strong representation at the national politics, I stepped forward to be the voice of this parliamentary seat,” he said.
He also said that he wants to address the issues and problems being faced by the people, ranging from infrastructure to health, education and unemployment.
On the ongoing political slugfests, he said, “People should stop mudslinging, finger-pointing at each other and talk about addressing the issues of the state effectively.”