TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma will lose his seat as the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) will draw a blank in the Garo Hills, claimed senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.
Addressing an election rally in South Tura on February 15, he dredged up the incident of firing in Mukroh, and stated that West Bengal, too, shares border with Assam, “but no one would dare to shoot five people there” as Mamata Banerjee happens to be the Chief Minister of the State.
The TMC leader also alleged that Mr. Sangma did not take requisite action to ensure justice for those killed in the incident fearing action by Central agencies on one pretext or another.
“I have categorically said that the NPP will draw a blank in Garo Hills, which has 24 seats. Conrad Sangma is losing his own seat — South Tura. Six months back, the party said Trinamool Congress has no base here. But now, if you look at their speeches, tweets, and statements, you will see that their day begins and ends with attacks on TMC. This shows how rattled they (NPP leaders) are,” Mr. Banerjee asserted.
He claimed to have noticed no streetlight near the district Collectorate, treasury office, the DIG office, and Tura police station. “If the Chief Minister cannot bring light to his own constituency, how can he bring development to the State?” he asked. He alleged that everything is in a shambles in the State, from hospitals to schools and colleges.
“The Shillong Medical College exists only on paper. Tura Medical College is also in the doldrums. West Bengal has 23 medical colleges, of which 16 are run by the government. But there isn’t even one medical college here. This is the result of the double-engine government,” said Mr. Banerjee, the TMC’s national general secretary.
He said that nowhere in the country an incident like the one in Mukroh firing has happened. “Three months have passed since the incident but there is no action against the officers who fired at innocent people. Isn’t it the Chief Minister’s responsibility to act when innocent people are being fired upon? The CM should have resigned for failing to take action,” he said.
Pointing out that West Bengal also shares its border with Assam, he said, “No one can dare to shoot five people in West Bengal because our CM’s name is Mamata Banerjee. They know that the CM here will not do anything so they attack innocents with impunity.”
Trouble had started at the border of the two States after Assam forest guards intercepted a Meghalaya vehicle carrying what was suspected to be illegally felled timber in the early hours of November 22. In the melee that followed, five tribal villagers from Meghalaya were shot dead by the Assam police after a forest guard from Assam was killed.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the police firing in Mukroh was an act of self-defence and to protect government properties.
Mr. Banerjee alleged that Mr. Sangma did not act over the incident, fearing action by Central agencies. “The Assam CM is from the BJP. If Meghalaya CM would have sent a notice to the Assam CM, Conrad Sangma would have received a notice from the ED. To save himself from ED-CBI, he is sacrificing his own people,” he alleged.
“Why should Meghalaya bow down in front of Delhi and Assam? I don’t think Meghalaya is a part of the northeast; instead, it is a part of the East. As the sun rises in the east, India’s development will begin from the East and from Meghalaya,” he added.
Mr. Banerjee, the nephew of the West Bengal Chief Minister, said that if the TMC is voted to power in the State, the accused in the Mukroh firing will be arrested. He also said that Mamata Banerjee will visit Meghalaya on February 22.