Modi says Meghalaya not safe in hands of Congress

Team Udayavani, Feb 23, 2018, 9:43 AM IST

Phulbari(Meghalaya): Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today Meghalaya is not safe in the hands of a Congress government, and appealed to the people to give BJP a chance to serve the state. He said that ruling Congress took the people for granted as it saw no political challenge in the state, according to the official twitter account of BJP.

‘Give us a chance to serve the state. We will ensure good governance guided by the philosophy of sabka saath, sabka vikas (inclusivity),’ he said at an election meeting here. ‘I promise you that Meghalaya’s BJP government will account for work and every penny being spent,’ he said.

Hitting out at the Mukul Sangma government, he said ‘There is a long list of scams to the credit of the state government and Meghalaya is not safe in the hands of the Congress government.’ He referred to the alleged scam in the recruitment of teachers.

The prime minister said that the Centre had provided around Rs 470 crore for laying 1,100 km of roads in the state under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) but the Meghalaya government was unable to spend even 50 per cent of it.

‘We approved construction of 21,000 houses in Meghalaya and provided more than Rs 100 crore to the government. But they were unable to build the required number of houses,’ Modi said. Noting that his government wants to further strengthen its ‘Act East Policy’, Modi said it will open up opportunities for people in the state and in the entire Northeast.

He said Rs 10,000 crore will be spent on roads in Meghalaya and improved connectivity will change the face of the state. ‘We have planned to spend around Rs 180 crore for building of the new Shillong airport. It will improve the possibilities for industrial development besides generation of employment for common man,’ the prime minister said.

Maintaining that Meghalaya has immense potential for the growth of tourism but lacks visitors, he said, ‘No efforts were ever made to strengthen the sector. We will ensure more and more tourists arrive here. This will generate income opportunities for people.’ 

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, he said though he was a doctor the health care sector is in a bad shape. “Women are forced to deliver babies at home which poses a great threat to the lives of mother and baby,” the prime minister said.

The Centre, he said, has introduced ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme which entitles a family to claim Rs 5 lakh every year towards medical exigencies. Apparently seeking to woo the voters in this Christian majority state, Modi said, ‘It was the BJP government which had rescued nurses from Iraq and brought them safe to Kerala. They all were Christians’.