SHILLONG, Aug 10: In a fresh attack on the NPP-led government, the VPP has accused it of abusing its authority to cripple the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) by withholding funds it is rightfully entitled to, while other Councils have already received theirs.
VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said that although the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) had already been given grants, the VPP-led Executive Committee in the KHADC was still forced to request for the same.
He recalled that the government had earlier threatened voters against supporting the new Executive Committee, but the public had rejected that argument. Despite this, he alleged, the government was now denying KHADC its rightful share of resources, which reports confirmed other councils had already received.
Myrboh said the government’s actions might be intended to weaken the Executive Committee,
but stressed that the more such tactics were used, the clearer the NPP’s “true colours” would become.
He warned that the people would give a befitting reply and, if such “abusive usage of authority” continued, would ultimately throw the ruling party out.
He further charged that the NPP did not want any opposition, a stance he said amounted to rejecting democracy itself.
“Democracy demands accountability and responsibility, and if you remove these, it means the absence of democratic governance,” he said. Without an opposition, he added, there can be no democratic governance. Myrboh alleged that the NPP’s ideology and mindset revealed a desire for a single-party system functioning in an unaccountable and irresponsible manner, making them “anti-democratic elements.”
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, KHADC Chief Executive Member Bah Shemborlang Rynjah, along with Executive Member in charge of Finance Bah Seiborlang Warbah, met Deputy Chief Minister in charge of District Council Affairs Prestone Tynsong to press for the Council’s share of funds.
The CEM submitted a memorandum outlining the Council’s financial needs and later informed that the KHADC had not yet received any share from the State Government, despite other Autonomous District Councils already receiving theirs.
