SHILLONG: Mukul Sangma has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement at a BJP rally on Saturday that there was no development in Meghalaya.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the chief minister said it was “surprising” and “ironical” to hear the Prime Minister make the remark when he inaugurated road projects implemented by the state government and sanctioned by the Congress-led UPA government.
Sangma said UPA understood the needs of the people and made huge investments over a period of time to implement massive road connectivity projects, including the Shillong bypass and the four-laning of Shillong Guwahati road.
“It is ironical to hear the words like ‘lack of development in the state’ from the Prime Minister who just inaugurated the projects, which were actually brought by the Congress-led UPA government,” he added.
He praised Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh “who responded to the requests of the state government”.
The chief minister also expressed anguish over Modi using the venue, which is meant for official programmes, for his political rally which, according to Sangma, was unacceptable and against all conventions.
Regarding health sector, Sangma said Meghalaya is the pioneering state in bringing a new insurance scheme christened Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme.
“This is one of the most inclusive programmes covering all aspects of life. Now people irrespective of their economic background can go to any hospital, whether it is private or government, to access the best health services. The central government had in fact invited the state to present the exemplary health initiative to other states,” Sangma said and asked the Prime Minister to do some homework on Phase 3 of the scheme before berating an elected government.
“I would suggest to the PM to first study this scheme which I, as a doctor, know is beneficial to people
since this great nation still has families who are poor and downtrodden and they cannot have access to quality healthcare. Maybe after studying our MHIS, he can think about replicating it in other parts of the country. Obviously, he can supplement it further. But we have paved the way,” the chief minister added.
Sangma pointed out that the northeastern states used to get block grants through the Planning Commission under the UPA government and these funds were used for taking up innovative schemes like MHIS and various other need-based local projects.
“Since the BJP-led government came to power, the northeastern states are not receiving these block grants meant to bridge the critical infrastructure gaps,” he said.
