Shillong, Dec. 16 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government, saying it had created scam after scam while his BJP was only for development.
He claimed that despite central funds, the state was not witnessing any development and that as per the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report, Rs 908 crore remained unutilised in Meghalaya in the last six years.
Addressing a public rally at the Polo Ground here, Modi alleged that the alliance government of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party in Meghalaya was not serving public interest but the mining mafia.
“I strongly feel that people of Meghalaya deserve better governance. It is time the people pay back the Congress government for all its misgovernance,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister visited Meghalaya and Mizoram on Saturday to inaugurate a slew of developmental projects in the two north-eastern states.
“The BJP agenda is development, speedy development, and all-around development,” the Prime Minister said.
“In order to bring about all-round development, the Bharatiya Janata Party will try to take Meghalaya to new heights. In the coming elections, people should elect a government that is ready to work and serve the people in the right earnest. We will work together to transform Meghalaya into a vibrant state,” Modi said.
Modi said that Congress had ruled the state for 15 years but people in Shillong were yet to get safe drinking water. The Congress has succeeded only in creating scam after scam, he said.
Modi also took at dig at Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, a doctor turned politician.
“The Chief Minister’s knowledge of health sector is far better than me. But unfortunately, healthcare facilities in Meghalaya are really in bad shape. There are health centres which do not have doctors and nurses. There is huge shortage of specialist doctors in state government hospitals,” the Prime Minister claimed.
“There are many children in state’s rural areas where children are yet to be immunised and lack health centres,” he added
Modi said 70 per cent primary teachers in Meghalaya are “untrained” and claimed that wrong people were recruited due to which a shortage of 1,700 teachers in government lower primary schools exist.
The Prime Minister also criticised the state government for its alleged failure to complete the Rymbai-Bataw-Borkhat-Jalalpur road project sanctioned in 2011.
“The delay is because the state government did not submit a Utilisation Certificate on funds released by the Centre for the project,” he said.
On the decision of villagers of Huroi to boycott the 2018 assembly elections, the Prime Minister questioned who provoked the residents of the village in a remote area to take such drastic step.
