Congress to address revenue leakages, unemployment issue if voted back to power in 2023

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaDecember 23, 2022

The opposition Congress on Friday assured to improve the revenue of the state and give employment to the people if voted to power in 2023.  

MPCC chief Vincent H Pala told reporters that the party has already completed drafting the manifesto under the chairmanship of the former state president Dr Celestine Lyngdoh and the same will soon be released by the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

Lyngdoh, who is also a former Umsning legislator, said that the manifesto seeks to highlight the main focus of the party which is to improve the revenue of the state.

“When we talk of running a government, we can give an example of running a household. For the household to be sufficient, we need funds. So in our manifesto, we have decided that the moment the Congress comes to power, all leakages when it comes to revenue will be plugged,” he said.

He said the party would also have a special committee on the revenue that is supposed to come through tourism.

“If we have to study the example of other states like Sikkim or if we have to study the example of Bhutan where tourism really benefits the local people unlike what is happening now in Meghalaya where every tourist who comes where tourist vehicle itself is hired from Assam, the food itself they packed from Assam and all that we get is the garbage that is left behind. So the Congress party will look into it and convert the tourism potential of the state into a real revenue generating activity for the people,” he said.

On the issue of unemployment, Lyngdoh said that the Congress is targeting to help unemployed youth of the state through entrepreneurship programmes and handholding programmes.

“Instead of wasting money in so many festivals we can utilize those funds and redirect them into helping our youths to stand on their own feet by starting small scale industries or cottage industries by hand holding them we can always create employment for them,” he added. 

Castigating the present government for delaying to fill up the various vacant posts, Lyngdoh said, “In the recent past, we have seen the youth who have participated in the physical and written test for jobs in the police department, till now nothing has happened. The Congress party will take care of that and that this thing will be done in record time and short time – all the vacant posts that are lying will be filled up.”

Asserting the importance of women empowerment, the former MPCC chief said, “We have seen so many schemes that have been rolled out by the present government but too late and too little. The Congress, if we form the next government, will ensure all the schemes that are meant to help the women and the youth will be done in time, not late.”

 “For example, one of my friends has said that if the piglets would have been distributed two years ago by now those beneficiaries would have had 10-15 piglets but giving out things just before the elections is just a wasteful expenditure of public money,” he cited.