Nongkrem legislator and president of the Voice of the People Party (VPP), Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit told the House that free and fair elections were held only in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).
“That was not the case in the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) election. I have been telling this and I am going to reiterate my stand that had there been a free and fair election in JHADC the VPP would have captured the Executive Committee in Jaintia Hills district,” Basaiawmoit told the House during the debate on the Governor’s address.
The VPP won a majority of seats in the KHADC, while it finished second to the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in the JHADC.
The VPP chief said that as a party they were informed about the kind of tradition, practices and culture in Jaintia Hills where village leaders would decide whom to support and it would be imposed on the voters.
He told the House that the VPP had identified all the highly sensitive polling stations in JHADC with the district administration but no action was taken on their part.
Basaiawmoit also alleged that in many polling stations there was booth rigging.
He also named a few polling stations wherein the candidates supported by the village leaders garnered a large chunk of votes. According to him, in Moolamylliang A polling station, the candidate sponsored by the village elders got 593 out of 609 valid votes while in Wapungskur, the candidate sponsored by the village elders got 656 out of 782 votes.
In Khliehriat East, the candidate sponsored by the village elders got 778 out of 780 votes.
“Where is the free and fair election? People were asked to surrender their EPIC to the village leader,” the VPP president alleged.
Basaiawmoit also alleged that one of the polling agents of the VPP under Nartiang constituency was abducted for many hours on voting day while another individual in Shilliang-Myntang constituency was taken by the opponents and was about to be thrown from a bridge.
He said that the VPP, which represents the people, will not sit idle and no stone will be left unturned till the people of Jaintia Hills get the opportunity to exercise their franchise freely.
The VPP asked Chief Minister Conrad Sangma if he can sleep peacefully when he knows his people cannot freely exercise their franchise in the state.
Meanwhile, the VPP leader also raised concern about the ambitious idea of turning Meghalaya into a $10 billion economy by 2028. Basaiawmoit said that it is not wrong to dream but he fears over the increasing debts of Meghalaya.
He said that he is skeptical about the whole idea considering the fact that Meghalaya is the third poorest state as per a 2023 report and even the unemployment rate here stands at 6 percent which is much higher than national average unemployment.
“Can we continue to avail loans from various banks? CAG warned our state borrowing trend is increasing and we are already in debt trap,” he said while asking the government to come clean on how much loan has been availed and how much is to be paid back.
Pointing out that Meghalaya is a non-revenue generating state, he asked the state government to explain how Meghalaya is prepared to re-pay these loans.
“If we fail to repay will GOI (government of India) bail us out and are we prepared on those conditions to be laid by the GOI when they decide to bail us out. What if the central government asks us to repay with extraction of uranium in the state?” he said.
