Mangsang, April 01: Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP chief Mr Conrad K. Sangma today campaigned in North and East Garo Hills in three different locations of Rongrong Abema, Mangsang and Chibonga as he kicked off his chopper campaign to drum up support for former Union MoS Agatha K. Sangma for the Tura Parliamentary constituency.
Addressing election rallies, Conrad made an “emotional” chord with the electorates as he shared the dreams of Late Purno Agitok Sangma of championing the cause of the indigenous people of Northeast.
“For MP election, the people of Garo Hills have always kept the interest of the tribesmen as the key agenda. This time also, it is not any different. The people of Garo Hills have united to show their solidarity to NPP. The wave of our party is felt across the region be it in plain belt area of Phubari, Rajabala or in the hills of Baghmara – Chokpot,” he said.
Clarifying the misinformation campaign of the opponent, NPP chief Conrad Sangma reiterated that the party will continue to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill in near future. “Meghalaya was the first state in India to oppose the Bill and raise its objection. We took the initiative to unite different political parties of Northeast and made our voice heard in Delhi and ensured that the Bill lapsed in the Rajya Sabha,” he exhorted.
Post lapse of the CAB, the people of Northeast has given due recognition to the National People’s Party, the larger section of the society in Northeast has given its testimony that NPP is the only party that can unite the voice of the region and made it heard in Delhi. “NPP is the party of the Northeast,” he added.
He reminded the gathering that people across Northeast is eagerly waiting to see the mandate for NPP as they believe that NPP can deliver and push forward the agenda for Northeast. While stating that the Congress party is propagating a wrong notion that NPP will partner with BJP and will ensure that the CAB is passed in the Lok Sabha, NPP chief said, “We will remain true to iour commitment promised to the people of Northeast and will never allow any bill that would hamper the interest of our people.”
“The Congress is aware that they are not coming back to power. So they are saying that NPP will partner with BJP. The Congress party is well qualified from the University of lies, so they will continue to lie the people,” he said.
Mr Conrad said that Congress is trying to dupe the people with lies that Garo National Council (GNC) is supporting the Congress, and that our leader Nihim D. Shira has also joined the Congress. “GNC and Nihim has clarified their stand and their lies have been caught. So they have no other option but to create and propagate wrong notion but I am confident that the people of Garo Hills will not buy their lies.”
He asked the electorates to make Congress candidate Dr. Mukul Sangma accountable by asking if during his tenure as Chief Minister whether he did not work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “He (Mukul) is saying that NPP is working with BJP, yes we are working with the centre to ensure development, and he did the same. So if NPP-BJP is same, Congress and BJP is also the same.” He said that state and centre has to work in coordination to ensure development.
He told the electorates that during the last one year, the MDA government maintained a cordial relationship with centre and has been able to bring funds for initiating welfare and development in the State. He said that during Mukul’s regime, Meghalaya was accorded merely 150 cores under PMGSY, which was upgraded to 1500 cores.
He said that the NPP has fulfilled its promise made in the 2018 election with education as its top priority. “We had promised education policy and we brought out the policy well ahead of completion of one year. For over four decades the education department had to work without any policy or direction, we have scripted a direction to move forward to ensure better educational facilities in Meghalaya,” he said.
The NPP chief said that basing on the education policy, the MDA government approached Ministry of Tribal Affairs and was accorded 11 Eklaveya Residential Model School (ERMS), out of 50 Schools across India as they were well aware that Meghalaya is focusing to ensure better education facilities for its children.
He told the gathering in different location that MDA government has been working to ensure that the promises made during the last election is fulfilled. “We are working for the future of Meghalaya and we will ensure that we are able to bring a transformation in the lives of our people,” he added.
He said that if Agatha K. Sangma is elected as MP, she will add to the initiative started by the MDA government and will voice our concerns in the Parliament. “During my tenure as MP, he tried his best to ensure that welfare schemes for Meghalaya were sanctioned. However, as he was from different party, it was difficult but he could manage. Now, almighty has given us an opportunity to elect an MP from the same party, so we should not miss the opportunity.”
