Shillong, Nov 10: Meghalaya Congress chief Vincent H Pala has accused the Voice of the People Party of failing to fulfil its promises on accountability and transparency and even spoiling the reservation benefits of the Khasi and Jaintia people, saying that the party has made little difference since assuming office.
Claiming that the political mood has shifted in the Congress’s favour, Pala said the party was gaining strength. “The Congress is coming up very strong,” he said after an election campaign for the upcoming Shillong Lok Sabha byelection at Sutnga on Tuesday.
Pala said the VPP came to power on the plank of accountability and transparency, but has failed to live up to either. “Whether it is the VPP or the BJP, they have to stick to their commitment. The VPP committed to the people that there will be accountability and transparency, and you see now more and more gates coming. There is no accountability, there is no transparency,” he said.
He cited the party’s promise on trading licences as an example of what he called a broken commitment. “They said they will not give trading licences, but I have seen with my own eyes, people who are working in NEIGRIHMS, everybody gets a trading licence,” Pala said. “So there is no difference, before the VPP was not there and now when the VPP is there.”
The Congress chief said the biggest betrayal has been on jobs and reservation. “The non-tribals, as usual, in two years, whereas the commitment is different. The hopes of the people that they will give employment, but rather the reservation policy has been spoiled, especially for Khasi and Jaintia Hills,” he said.
Pala said people, especially young voters from the Khasi and Jaintia communities, were well-informed and would judge political parties based on their accountability and commitment to promises.
