The opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) was left amused by Amit Shah’s allegations of outright corruption committed by the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government over the past five years because Shah’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was a strong supporter of that same administration throughout.
Yesterday, at a campaign rally in Garo Hills, Shah said that Meghalaya is one of the most corrupt states in the entire country and that its type of corruption has not been done in any other part of the country.
The TMC latched on to these comments today, with general secretary Abhishek Banerjee challenging Shah, who is Union Home Minister, to take action against Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma over the alleged malfeasance.
Banerjee said that nothing can be more hilarious than Shah accusing his own government of corruption.
“BJP is now saying that they will take action against those who ran the government for the past five years. But they were the ones in power! Will Amit Shah take action against himself? Will Amit Shah take action against Conrad Sangma? I dare Amit Shah to take action against Conrad Sangma. But he won’t do it because all the money went to him and to Delhi,” Banerjee said.
Promising a sustainable and safe mining policy once Meghalaya TMC comes to power, Banerjee lambasted the MDA government for repeatedly violating the court order to stop illegal coal mining.
“There have been no ED-CBI raids in Meghalaya. There has been rampant illegal coal mining in the last five years despite High Court orders and guidelines. There has been an embargo from the Hon’ble Court. But still, you have rat-hole mining and illegal mining going on. Who is this money going to? This is your money. But this money is going into the pockets of leaders and BJP honchos sitting in Guwahati and Delhi,” he said.
Urging the voters to give the TMC a chance, he asked those gathered in Khyndailad here, “Do you want a CM who will do puppetry for his masters sitting in Delhi and Guwahati or do you want a true leader who will fight and stand up for your rights? This is a decision you have to make on February 27.”
He also castigated the CM for not, according to the TMC, standing up enough to Assam over the Mukroh Massacre in November last year, where five Meghalayans were shot dead by Assam police. Banerjee said that Sangma does not dare to stand up for his own people as the BJP would then set the Enforcement Directorate and other arms of government on him.
TMC flags flew around the city centre today evening as supporters and passersby gathered around the junction to get a glimpse of Banerjee during a public meeting. The iconic junction was painted in the party’s blue and white colours as people donned TMC caps and flags.
Banerjee was in fine fettle and added that Shah will not take any action on corruption in Meghalaya despite the rampant illegal rat-hole mining taking place in the state since the money is going into BJP pockets.
Meanwhile, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien mockingly lauded Shah for speaking the truth for once with regards to Thursday’s statement on corruption.
“Mr Amit Shah for once in four years spoke the truth and that has exposed the campaign of everybody else. TMC is trying its best and we are enthusiastic and our intentions are good,” O’Brien said.
Both he and Banerjee promised that the TMC, once it wins the election, will fight to ensure that the Khasi and Garo languages are included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Banerjee also challenged Sangma to produce a report card of what his government has done for Meghalaya in the last five years and he promised to show what the TMC has done for West Bengal and compare the two.
“People will then see the facts and figures and then decide before voting what is in their best interest,” he said.
