Shillong: A senior Congress legislator in Meghalaya, Dr. Celestine Lyngdoh on Monday said a new tribe known as ‘high level tribe’ has emerged in the state.
“This new tribe has been allowed to prosper under the watch of the MDA 1 government. The MDA I government has allowed this new tribe to prosper and because of this, the police – the men in uniform – have lost face in front of Meghalaya High Court,” he said.
Taking part in the debate on the budget in the Assembly, the opposition Congress legislator said that Meghalaya police have lost face in front of the Meghalaya High Court due to the ‘high level tribe”.
In its ruling, Lyngdoh said that the High Court had openly made a remark that it has lost the trust in the Meghalaya police.
“The High Court has demanded that CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) will be brought into the state to check the activities of this new tribe. Is it because of the incapability of the state police that the CISF will be brought in?” the Congress legislator questioned.
“When our police forces try to adjust with all the impossible demands, maybe of the people in power, this is the risk we run. We lose face in front of the Courts. All these activities that are going on made us get the tag of the most corrupt state in India,” he further asked.
He took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for
installing the National People’s Party (NPP)-led government in the state despite Home Minister Amit Shah terming the previous NPP government as the “most corrupt government in the country” during a rally on February 17.
“I am afraid to see the trend that is going on in the country. There are a certain group of people who say without us, if you do something it is called corruption, but the same activity, if we are included and allowed to do together, it is called brilliance. This is the tragedy that the country is facing now,” he said.
Stating that he understands that the government does not have to reply to every Tom, Dick and Harry when they make allegations, the Congress legislator, however, said the allegations of terming “Meghalaya as the most corrupt state” have come from a very important person in the country.
“So can we just ignore it? And that allegation is made not in a tea shop or in any corner somewhere. This allegation was made in a big election rally where thousands of people were present. So this really affects our image,” Lyngdoh said.
Moreover, he said this observation has come from people who have made many famous one-liners for the country like “na khaunga na khane dunga” ((neither will I indulge in corruption, nor allow anyone else to indulge in it).
“Imagine the plight of our people who work outside the state. When they meet their friends, their friends will say you are ‘chor’ (thief) number one in the country, your state is ‘chor’ number one,” Lyngdoh said, adding that the allegation has directly affected the image of the state, Lyngdoh said, ” In Khasi language we say ‘Ka ktah mationg’ (affects the image) more so because our state is also known as a Christian state. ”
