NPP slams Congress for ‘Taliban remarks’

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 19, 2021

The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) on Thursday slammed the opposition Congress for branding the youth of the state ‘Talibans’ and maligning the image of Meghalaya in front of the entire country.

In a statement issued here, NPP spokesperson Marcuise N Marak said that the recent statement by Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, where he blatantly uses the terms ‘terrorists’ and ‘Taliban’ to refer to Meghalaya and its youth, is highly despicable.

He said at a time when the NPP-led MDA government is working along with the people to restore peace in the state, it is unfortunate to see that the Congress leaders are fishing in troubled waters by branding our youth ‘Talibans’ and maligning the image of Meghalaya in front of the entire country.

He said there is no difference between the understanding of the Congress and that of an outsider and this shows they never had any understanding of the socio-political atmosphere of Meghalaya.

Marak further claimed that under the MDA government and the leadership of Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, there is relative peace in the state.

He however said except for a negligible number of minor volatile incidents, the MDA government under NPP’s leadership has been able to solve them through dialogue and discussions.

“We believe that it is our responsibility to take care of each and every community in Meghalaya, and in doing so, we will fight the Congress party tooth and nail if they level such unwanted allegations against our people,” he said.

Marak further stated that if the Congress thinks it can get away with such allegations, let the people be reminded of the activities that Congress gave room to in its period of sorry governance.

“One can come up with a long list of ‘dictatorial’, ‘undemocratic’ and ‘terrorist-like’ activities perpetrated by the Mukul-led Congress government on the citizens of Meghalaya, which eventually led to the breakdown of law and order in the state. The case of Fullmoon Dhar is a classic reminder,” he said.

The NPP leader further pointed out that Fullmoon Dhar was gunned down by the police on the 1st of June 2009 after “escaping” from Shillong jail. SI PJ Marbaniang, an officer-in-charge of Patharkhmah outpost in Ri Bhoi district was found mysteriously shot inside his official quarter in Patharkhmah on January 24, 2015, a day after detaining 32 coal-laden trucks plying illegally on the Patharkhmah route.

Before the 2018 elections, NCP candidate Jonathone Sangma was killed by a militant outfit in Garo Hills, but the Congress government was silent because Jonathone was not from their party. Even an enquiry was not set up.

He said in fact, Jonathone had complained about Deborah Marak before the 2013 elections, stating that Marak tried using GNLA militants to intimidate voters. Marak eventually won the seat as a Congress candidate in 2013.

Marak added that let the Congress not forget how they suppressed protests when 9 students were shot down in broad daylight by the police near the MBOSE office in Tura and Williamnagar, when Mukul Sangma was the Home Minister in 2005.

“Today, the same Congress is using words like ‘terrorists’ against the people of Meghalaya.

For Surjewala, his perspective is that of an outsider, where he has not bothered to dive into any facts before damaging the image of the state. As long as he and his party can gain some mileage, everything seems justified to them. Surjewala and the Congress must collectively apologise to the people of Meghalaya for making such blatant remarks. If they cannot play the role of a constructive opposition, then they should not try to make futile attempts to destabilize the state machinery,” he said while condemning the disinformation-spreading act of Surjewala and the Congress, which have hurt the sentiments of our people and of the state.