SHILLONG, FEB 12: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said it has always been “sensitive” towards the identity of the people in the different parts of the North East region including Meghalaya.
“In fact we have been a party that has raised the question on the change of the demographic profile of states like Assam and others by influx and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. So we are always sensitive to that,” BJP national spokesman Nalin Kohli told journalists here on Monday.
Refusing to comment on the stand of the BJP with regards to the growing demand for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya and Manipur, he however said that the BJP respects and is always been concern about the identities of various people in different parts of NE.
“Whatever needs to be done to protect the identity of these tribes and other communities that lives in the North East, this has always been raised (by the BJP). As rightly pointed out that it is the agenda of the government, so we are working with a positive agenda,” he added.
Pertaining to the opposition from various quarters including the political parties on railway line in Meghalaya, Union Minister of State for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy assured that once the BJP forms the government, it will take everyone on board and take a consensus to find an outright solution.
“I will not constrain to say that Meghalaya will see the best infrastructure of the world here once the BJP government is formed,” Rudy, who was in the state’s capital since yesterday to assist the party in preparing for upcoming polls, told reporters.
The senior BJP leader also said that the party had marched ahead in forming government in 19 states on its own and also with its coalition partners and it is going to add four more starting from Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Karnataka.
The BJP has fielded candidates in 47 out of 60 seats for the February 27 Assembly polls. Earlier it has launched its ‘Mission 40’ to get 40 seats in Meghalaya.
Asked, Rudy expressed confidence that the BJP will get majority in the coming elections and said, “We don’t believe in fractured mandate. Do not get surprise by my confidence I have been handling elections for last 30 years we are confident to form a BJP government in the state of Meghalaya.”
On the chief ministerial candidate, the union minister while refusing to disclose on the matter only said that this is a political process, it cannot be decided now.
With regards to the Congress allegation that the BJP is a communal party, Rudy said that he was shocked that the political party which has moved away from development agenda and in term of secularism has proved the nation is talking about the communal agenda of the BJP.
“They (Congress) don’t have a vote bank, they created vote bank by splitting the society and they want to play that trick in Meghalaya and I think all the boundary of such statements will be surpassed in this election,” he added.
Reacting to a query, Kohli said that the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) is not a political platform but is a developmental platform to bring development to the North East region.
“Those who are looking at NEDA as a political platform to fight election, it is there incorrect way of looking at it. NEDA brings people together to discuss the common vision of developing the NE. Political parties are entitle to have their own political agendas outside NEDA not within NEDA,” he said.
He also said that during the presidential elections a lot of constituents of the NEDA has supported and voted for the president. “However, if you reduce NEDA to a political platform that is incorrect as a coalition and a political platform is different so let us not mixed the two,” he added.
By Our Reporter
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