SHILLONG, FEB 15: AICC spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Wednesday termed the BJP’s promise to establish a special task force under a retired Supreme Court Judge to investigate cases of corruption against the MDA as a “big joke”.
“This is a big joke because the BJP are themselves a part of the alliance. The people of Meghalaya want to know -what were they doing for the last 5 years?” Supriya told reporters while reacting to the manifesto released by the BJP national president JP Nadda in the city.
“The BJP has realised that it will not win any seat in Meghalaya, so the announcement of this Special Task Force is actually a veiled threat to other smaller parties to fall in line or else they will be under the scanner,” she said.
Stating that there were two ministers of the BJP – AL Hek and Sanbor Shullai – on the dias during the release of the manifesto, the AICC leader said, “Will the BJP also investigate its own partymen who were a part of the corrupt ruling MDA alliance?”
Also referring to the BJP manifesto as a lip service full of jumlas, she said the Congress party’s commitments made in its manifesto is the best, realistic and implementable.
She also warned that the BJP is a threat to the identity of the people of Meghalaya while referring to the attacks on churches in various parts of India, innocents lynched on allegations of eating beef, religious profiling of Christians and Muslims in Assam and others and said, “The Sixth Schedule of our Constitution which guarantees protection to the indigenous tribals of Meghalaya is also under threat.”
She said the BJPs demand for a Uniform Civil Code throughout the country shows its majoritarian mindset.
“BJP polarises and spreads communal disharmony everywhere. BJP is anti-Christian with clear evidence of ill treatment of minorities across the country. The anti-conversion bill passed in Karnataka in January 2021 “Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion bill -2021” has put the entire Christian community and minorities in fear. In addition it is needless to speak about the innumerable attack on churches across the state and the country. With respect to the beef ban, the mob lynching of a 50-year-old Mohammed Aqlaq in Dadri on 28 September 2015 for allegedly carrying beef is still a burning memory in the mind of all Indians. The inhuman treatment and false indictment of Father Stan Swamy, who lived his life for the welfare of the tribal community, and was tortured to death by the BJP is still fresh in our minds. He will remain a martyr who fought for the people’s rights till his end as a true believer of our constitution,” she said.
She said recently Janajati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Manch (an organisation backed by RSS) has demanded the removal of the Scheduled Tribe Christians. This is against the spirit of respecting the indigenous ethnic origin of the Scheduled Tribes of the North East, especially the Christian community in Meghalaya and Nagaland. It also demonstrates the compelling need of BJP to repeatedly invoke their anti-Christian mentality.
“In Assam the Police Special Branch SP’s sent out “secret” letters to all SPs in the districts seeking information on churches and religious conversion in the region. This is a clear attempt at identifying and targeting Christians in the region,” she said adding “BJP believes in a concept of one India where it will impose their idea of culture, language of and religion across the country. The majoritarian polarising view of BJP kills the diversity of India which is the soul of our unity.”
Also stating that the Congress has always believed in unity in diversity, she said, “We believe that our diversity is our greatest strength. We respect the uniqueness of every state in the country. Congress believes in inclusive politics. We respect the diversity Meghalaya as well as the entire North East with its indigenous and ethnic rights. The people of Meghalaya would like to ask the BJP and PM Modi questions and we want answers as this impacts our lives. Will the BJP implement Uniform civil code in the state of Meghalaya?”
She said that in Assam the Janjati suraksha Samithi an RSS backed organization has demand the removal of ST status for people who convert to Christians. Tell us if the BJP will follow through on this ? Removal of ST status will throw out the people of Meghalaya from all their protection and rights.
The AICC leader further questioned the BJP contribution towards development of Meghalaya.
“The BJP has been in power for 8 years in the centre and has been a member of the ruling MDA alliance. What has it done for the people of Meghalaya? What are the infrastructure developments which have been undertaken? Shillong airport is still not connected by any major flight. There is no airport or National Highway connectivity to Tura. Power and water shortage still continue to exist,” she said.
She added, “The only thing BJP has done is accuse its own government in Meghalaya of corruption. Yesterday the BJP President Mr. Nadda accused their own government of corruption. This is the biggest proof that BJP and its allies have only indulged in corruption and done nothing for the people of Meghalaya in the past five years.”
Alleging that the BJP has no standing in Meghalaya, she however said, “Yet we see posters and hoardings of the party across the state, more than any other party. This is a clear indication that BJP is the ATM for other parties in Meghalaya.”
By Our Reporter
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