By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 2: Tura MP Saleng A Sangma on Thursday said it will be disastrous to vote for the National People’s Party (NPP) again in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council elections.
He said if the NPP retains power, it may wipe out the autonomous district councils (ADCs) to protect its own interests. He said the ADCs were created to protect the interests of indigenous people.
“Voting for the NPP and allowing them to form the EC (Executive Committee) again would be disastrous as they are only entertaining outsiders,” Sangma said.
He said the NPP’s intention is clear from its recent decision where it extended the land lease period for private investors from outside from 30 years to 60 years.
Accusing the NPP of treating the ADCs as its own private entity, he said the people of the state are already aware what the NPP is doing.
“They (people) know about CAA, ILP and other things and it all depends on people. What will be the best for them,” he said, adding that the Congress needs to tell the truth to the masses with sincerity and leave everything to them to decide their future course of action.
NPP state working president Hamletson Dohling agreed that people will judge the performance of the party, especially in KHADC where the EC is being led by the NPP. He said people will also judge how far the EC has been able to protect the interests of the indigenous tribes.
“We cannot fool the people since they are intelligent enough to assess the performance of the EC. If people are happy with the EC led by the NPP, then we are going to get the full support of the people to win the election,” he said.
Dohling also said that it will not be right to judge the performance of the ruling party based on its performance in the Assembly or Lok Sabha elections since one election is different from the other.
According to him, people do not vote in the same pattern since they know how to elect their representatives who will represent them in the Parliament, the Assembly or the district council.
Dohling claimed people’s response to the NPP has been encouraging in the constituencies he visited to campaign.
