Flays Mahila Cong for defending Home Minister
SHILLONG: The Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has condemned the ‘sexist and unprincipled’ statements of the Meghalaya Mahila Congress in support of the “arrogant stance” of Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh who has refused to step down from his position.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, TUR said Marvelene’s Inn, the guest house owned and run by Lyngdoh’s immediate family, has been a habitual ‘den of vice’ in the recent case of trafficking of the 14-year-old girl.
“At least four persons, who have been arrested till date have used this guest house to sexually abuse this minor. Despite this serious culpable offence by the owners and the management of this guest house, they are treated with kid gloves just because they are HDR’s near and dear ones,” TUR said.
TUR has been demanding HDR’s resignation to ensure that everyone involved in the trafficking ring is properly investigated and the guilty are swiftly prosecuted in a time-bound manner as prescribed by law.
“Although the proverb goes that ‘not only Caesar but Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion’, the Government and the Congress in Meghalaya are more interested in protecting its sinful privileges rather than the ethical norms which should govern its practices,” TUR said.
According to TUR, the statement by the party’s women’s wing points to a total lack of principle and commitment to accountability of those in power and points to the fact that “some women such as these are more interested in furthering their narrow selfish interests rather than standing up for the larger cause of gender justice and equality”.
Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress president Joplin Scott Shylla had on Wednesday said there was no reason for Lyngdoh to step down as he was not involved in the rape case.
TUR pointed out that on the one hand, when it came to illegal acts by the then Governor V. Shanmuganathan, the Congress was trying to score political points against the BJP for its defence of the RSS pracharak governor.
“But when it comes to their own Congress minister, the same party is out in full force to defend the man whose immediate family runs the den of vice,” it stated. “The defence of HDR Lyngdoh continuing as home minister shows the moral bankruptcy of the governing party and its entire corrupt structure. TUR along with citizens of Meghalaya would be intensifying their campaign for the removal of HDR as the Home Minister,” the statement added.
