The leader of the opposition, Dr Mukul Sangma, came out firing today, saying that the Conrad Sangma-led state government is too busy “looting the state with impunity” to be bothered by the differences between indigenous and non-indigenous communities that have arisen out of the Ichamati issue.
Recently accusations were made by a few non-tribals that the Hindu community in the state is being persecuted by the government, district councils, police and pressure groups. These allegations have reached the ears of groups in West Bengal and Assam with protests there, and counter-protests taking place in Meghalaya. Added to all this is a vicious slanging match between members of different communities on social media, which quickly, in some cases, took a communal turn.
The government has largely kept quiet other than stating once that the issue will be handled.
“They are busy doing something else, that is looting the state with impunity,” Dr Sangma told reporters after a Congress Party meeting today.
He also said that the government failed to act on time against all the narratives that have created misunderstanding amongst communities and which generated aggressive social media circulation and defamed the state.
Things have taken such a turn because, he said, of the inept, incompetent government which is still sleeping on the matter.
Dr Sangma also expressed concern that the government machinery has broken down when it comes to responding to a call of duty.
“What is the government doing when such vicious, unpleasant narratives are being circulated? It does not augur well for the state. The people of the state are peace loving. Our government in the past has overcome such challenges and the government of today is expected to overcome such challenges and resolve them in time,” the opposition leader said.
The former Chief Minister went on to claim that Meghalaya was perceived in a positive light be those outside the state when the Congress was in power and this attracted positive national and international attention.
“But gone are those positive stories. These are being replaced by narratives which are unpleasant and something, as concern members of society, we feel perturbed by,” Dr Sangma added.
The Congress will take up these issues in the winter session of the Assembly, which is slated to begin on November 5, along with the border dispute with Assam, delays in completing entry/exit checkpoints and the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act.
