It is a big lie to ascribe recent road mishap to VIP culture: Paul Lyngdoh

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 18, 2024

Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Monday said it was a big lie to ascribe the recent road accident in Ri Bhoi district to VIP culture.

His statement came in the wake of the growing demand from several quarters to put an end to the VIP culture following the alleged involvement of a police escort vehicle in hitting a biker during the recently concluded cherry blossom festival.

Speaking to media persons, Lyngdoh said, “Please bear in mind using your logic and your sense of what actually could have taken place. There was a huge cavalcade of VIPs led by chief minister which had to reach at 6:30 but had manage to reach only at 6:45 because the entire cavalcade of cars after the initial 2-3 convoy, there was CM car and my car was right behind CM cars after which there were 7-10 more cars.

“We stopped at several points because the movement of people was so huge that traffic came to a complete standstill. Where was the possibility of any of the police convoys even using speed and hitting somebody by accident in the process when we kept getting stall and getting delayed?” he asked.

“However, when you compare that to a motorist riding a bike it would have been easier for him to be at high speed, hit the convoy and then getting hit by another car which is something that has been narrated to me by quite a few people. So this has nothing to do with VIP culture,” the minister defended.

He said that the state has to observe certain protocols especially when you have a union minister visiting the state.

“We were supposed to be there on time without inconveniencing the public. So the fact that such an accident has taken place is certainly unfortunate but do bear this in mind that none from the convoy could have hit that biker because we were either stopping or moving at snail’s pace,” Lyngdoh stated.