In a hard hitting attack against the MDA government, opposition Congress MLA Dr. Celestine Lyngdoh today said that the government had played a key role in the emergence of a new tribe known as ‘high level tribe’ which is involved in many illegalities in the State.
Taking part in the debate on the budget in the Assembly today, Dr. Lyngdoh said, “Meghalaya is inhabited by three major tribes – the Khasi, the Garo and the Jaintia. But a new tribe known as the high level tribe has been allowed to prosper.”
“Because of this new tribe, the police force, the men in uniform in our State now have lost face in the eyes of the High Court of Meghalaya. The High Court in one of its rulings has openly said that it has lost trust in the Meghalaya Police and the High Court has demanded that CISF be brought into the State to check the activities of the new tribe known as the high level tribe,” Dr. Lyngdoh said.
“All these activities are going on that we get the tag of the most corrupt State in India meaning that someone is calling the shots from behind. I wish the new government will be able to control this new tribe – the high level tribe. I wish our men in uniform will be able to recover back the lost prestige that they have faced under the current dispensation. The new tribe has been allowed to prosper under the watch of the MDA-1,” he added.
Dr. Lyngdoh also referred to the allegations by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during an election rally that “Meghalaya is the most corrupt State in the country”.
Dr. Lyngdoh said that such allegations have directly affected the image of the State.
“The allegations are not unfounded,” he said while reminding about the various scams that took place in the State such as Saubhagya Scam, Smart Meter Scam, Rice Scam etc.
Lyngdoh said that it was really embarrassing not only for the State but also people from the State studying outside that Meghalaya is being tagged as the most corrupt State.
However, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in his reply said that such allegations were made only for election purposes by the Union Home Minister.
“I just like to tell the people of our State that the statement was made during the election by certain individuals, who then finally came here during our swearing-in programme itself.”
He said that if this is the case then similarly the Congress should also be questioned since there was a time when the Congress government was in the Centre and there were several allegations made like 2G Spectrum Scam, CWG Scam, Chopper Scam and several others.
