Trinamool Congress (TMC) star campaigner, Mahua Moitra MP, delivered stinging rebukes to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress Party at a press conference ahead of the February 27 Assembly election here today.
The irony of the BJP accusing the state government, of which it is a coalition member, of corruption has not been lost on anyone except those within the saffron party and Moitra picked up on that today.
“The BJP is in the same coalition government in Meghalaya along with the NPP (National People’s Party). So, if you’ve been in power in the state for the last five years, then you’re obviously looking in the mirror when you say that Meghalaya is the most corrupt state and that’s exactly why people are clamouring for change and that is why the Trinamool is here,” she said.
On yesterday’s comment by the Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi that the TMC is the BJP’s B-team, Moitra said that the days of the national parties are over.
“If we had to rely on a byparty system, there would be no hope left for democracy in India. The Trinamool has fought for 34 years and has come to power in West Bengal and are there for a third term. We don’t need to prove our anti-BJP credentials anywhere. I think all of us sitting here have demonstrated to the people of India that if there is any one standing strong, against all odds, it is the Trinamool against the BJP,” she maintained.
It was put to her that, after the previous election in Manipur, a TMC legislator merged with the BJP, Moitra explained that the party had only one MLA at the time in Manipur and, when that is the case, the anti-defection law does not apply.
That MLA fell prey to the “carrot and stick” approach of the BJP, which has been adept at luring away MLAs in several states when it cannot win an election, such as in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, she said, while adding that this will not apply to the TMC team in Meghalaya.
The TMC is the real alternative for the people who want to remove the current government, which has “done nothing for infrastructure, roads, healthcare and for all-round development”.
Yesterday, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saw a huge turnout of people at a political rally in Rajabala, Garo Hills. “What the crowds demonstrated was that the people are hungry for change. There’s a reason when there is a high turnout in the polls and there’s a reason when people come out for rallies. Meghalaya is a small state and to have a crowd of 50,000 to 70,000 people shows that they are hungry for change,” Moitra stated.
Echoing similar views, TMC Meghalaya leader Charles Pyngrope and Nongthymmai MLA termed the statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as “disturbing”.
He said that a statement coming from such a national leader is an indication that the government of Meghalaya over the last five years has been dismal.
Meanwhile, in a public address held in support of North Shillong candidate Elgiva Gwyneth Rynjah Moitra emphasised the significance of the unity of the women electorates. “We have the power. Let all the male votes get divided into parts. If all the women vote for Elgiva, we will be victorious,” she said.
