SHILLONG, FEB 11: AICC general secretary in-charge communications and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the National People’s Party (NPP), the United Democratic Party (UDP) and even the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) are the “puppets” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He also rechristened the TMC as ‘JMP’ which stands for “Judas Mukul Party’.
After releasing the party’s manifesto for the February 27 assembly polls, Ramesh said Meghalaya means the abode of the clouds but today these clouds have taken on a different meaning.
“Today, the clouds are of no rain bearing clouds but these clouds are of corruption, these clouds are of unemployment, power cuts, these clouds are of damage to the independent identity of people of Meghalaya and finally these are the clouds of political puppetry.”
Slamming the political puppets of the BJP, he said, “There is one puppet master he sits in Delhi and there are puppets in different states. Here there is one puppet called the NPP, there is another puppet called the UDP and now there is a new, third puppet that has come into Meghalaya politics TMC or JMP (Judas Mukul Party).”
Asking the people of Meghalaya not to be under any illusion, the MP said, “These are all part of the BKP’s game plan. NPP is BJP’s A-team, UDP is BJP’s B-team and TMC or JMP is BJP’s C-team here…Congress is fighting a three-party or four-party alliance led by the BJP.”
Stating that the BJP may not have electoral presence but it has other presence, he said, “You know what I mean in spite of the demonetization there is a lot of monetization that takes place, thanks to the BJP.”
He said the state in the last five years has had a government of the MDA, by the MDA and for the MDA or the ‘Money Development Alliance’.
The Congress leader further alleged that the alliance partners of the MDA have taken a “temporary divorce” for the purpose of elections and are claiming to be fighting as independent parties.
“But let nobody be fooled as the NPP, the UDP and the BJP are all part and parcel of the same package,” he said while further asserting “The Congress is fighting the cloud of corruption, the cloud of unemployment, the cloud of destruction of Meghalaya’s identity and finally the cloud of unholy alliance – BJP, NPP, UDP, TMC – who are all claiming to fight independently now but mark my words at the first opportunity they will jump into bed together.”
Stating that the Meghalaya polls will be a ‘watershed election’ for the Congress, Ramesh said 47 out of 60 candidates are below the age of 45 and this has never happened before in any state but it has happened in Meghalaya and this is bringing the youth to the fore.
He also referred to the former leaders as ‘Judas’ and said, “One advantage of the Judas leaving our party is that they create vacancies and we have youngsters for the first time. Secondly, 10 out of 60 are women. No other political party in Meghalaya has given women such a heavy representation.”
“So it is a watershed election for the Congress party. Of course we recognize that there are many people who betrayed the Congress party in the last couple of years, good riddance, their commitment to the values of the Congress and its ideology obviously is not very strong, obviously ED, CBI, Income Tax has come knocking on their doors,” he added.
Also stating that the key issue of the party is Meghalaya’s identity, Ramesh said, “Meghalaya is part of the Indian Union, is part of the Indian mainstream. Youth of Meghalaya are earning a name for themselves all over the country but there is a unique and distinctive identity to the society of Meghalaya that only the Congress can protect.”
He added, “On the one side you have sets of parties who will dictate what the identity of Meghalaya is from Nagpur or from Delhi or you have another political party which will dictate what is good for Meghalaya from Kolkata, it is only the Congress party which will dictate from Shillong, from Meghalaya not only dictate but it will determine in the state.”
Ramesh also warned the people of the state that the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution is under threat and said, “The ethnic identity of Meghalaya, the religious identity, the social identity, the linguistic identity is all under threat because in the name of unity the BJP and its allies propagate uniformity.”
“It is only the Congress party that believes not just unity in diversity but unity through diversity. If you strengthen diversity, you strengthen unity. If you weaken diversity, you weaken unity. The BJP wants uniformity, the Congress wants unity through diversity,” he added.
When asked, the AICC general secretary said that the Congress is fighting to win on its own strength.
“We are confident that the people of Meghalaya will give a mandate to the Congress party. It is tried and trusted party it is an experiences party, it is a party that respects the sentiments of the people of Meghalaya and it is a party for which decision will not be taken in Kolkata or New Delhi or Nagpur but decisions will be taken in Shillong by leaders of Meghalaya but of course in consultations with other people because the Congress is also a national party.”
He said many people have written the obituaries of the Congress. “It has become their favourite pastime, writing obituaries of the Congress but the Congress has a remarkable capacity for surprising their obituaries,” he added.
On the BJP’s offer for a double engine government, Vincent Pala said the question of double or single engine government will not arise as it is for the people of Meghalaya to decide not the BJP.
“The BJP is now threatening the people of Meghalaya if you don’t vote for BJP then you will not get money, if you don’t vote for BJP then you cannot form the government. This is a democracy. The BJP cannot run whether double, single or 10 engines, it is the people of Meghalaya who will run Meghalaya and it will be the leaders of Meghalaya who will run Meghalaya,” he said while predicting that the BJP may not even get 2 seats this time.
By Our Reporter
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