Basic needs Cong priority

SHILLONG, FEB 16: Even as he iterated that the Congress will form the next government, Union Defence Minister and senior Congress leader AK Anthony said that the party is committed in paying attention to the basic needs of voters like food, heath care, drinking water, sanitation and other immediate needs.

Anthony, who is in town to campaign for Congress candidate Manas Chaudhuri who is contesting from Shillong South constituency against Sanbor Shullai of the NCP, claims that the Congress party and the people of Meghalaya have a close bonding and therefore his party will be voted to power.

Interacting with reporters on Saturday, Anthony said,  “There is a ‘strong-binding-force’ between the people of the state and the people in the Congress party.”

Even as Anthony appealed to the Meghalaya electorates to vote for a secular party like the Congress, he claimed that it is only the Congress that can keep the country together and Meghalaya by and large has a strong conviction in secularism.”

Anthony said other area of importance for the Congress is employment generation. He said, “We are concentrating on giving more employment to the youths.” He also tried to entice the electorates to vote for the Congress by saying that the state government along with the center will do a lot of things for the welfare of the people of Meghalaya.

Anthony also felt that the repeated price hike in petrol price, inflation, scams at the centre would have any negative impact in the electoral prospect of the Congress in Meghalaya. He justified this by saying that people know what the Congress is doing to solve these issues.

Anthony also added that the rise in the oil prices is a global phenomenon beyond the control of the government but the Congress is trying to contain inflation.” – By Our Reporter