BJP development projects are actually Congress projects under a different name: Ibobi

By A Staff Reporter

IMPHAL | Nov 15

Former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh today came out to join the chorus of charges in the present times that whatever the BJP government is claiming to be their achievements are all works that the Congress government initiated.

“The BJP government is merely continuing with what the Congress government began, but are making loud noises now that it was they who conceived of, and pushed for initiatives for the development of the economy of the country”, he said.

It may be recalled that another central Congress leader, Shashi Tharoor, had mockingly pointed out that most of the development initiatives claimed by the new BJP government are actually schemes designed by the Congress government, but given a new name.

He said that BJP has come to power only very recently, even the Central government has only 3-4 years of governance behind it, and that all their achievements are made easy because of the painstaking foundations laid by the Congress government for decades beginning from Jawaharlal Nehru time.

He challenged both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister N. Biren, to not only take credits for the development work, but also to work for peace and harmony of all people and not to fragments the country and the state for their political gains.

Ibobi was speaking at the sit-in-protest today held at Mayang Imphal demanding the BJP government to disclose the contents of the Framework Agreement that was signed between NSCN-IM and BJP government in August 3, 2015.

The sit-in-protest was organised by Mayang Imphal Block Congress Committee and was attended by big names of state Congress party including MPCC president T.N. Haokip and former deputy chief minister Gaikhangam and MLA of Khundrakpam constituency Thokchom Lokeshwor Singh

He urged the government to disclose the contents of the Framework Agreement to all public so as to allay fear, curiousness and confusion among them.

The former chief minister also said that the BJP government have been talking about transparency in governance all along. He urged the BJP government to show transparency by disclosing the Framework Agreement.

He also said that “he respect the brotherhood with Nagaland, but asserted that peace and harmony of the state should not be disturbed by demands of their ‘Greater Nagaland’ and disintegrate this small state.” The indigenous people of the state and the territorial integrity of the state should always be preserved by the government, he added.

The boundaries of all North-eastern states were set after independence, but for places like Manipur and Assam the histories of their boundaries go back much longer, he said.

He urged the Biren led BJP government in the state and Modi led BJP government in the Centre to understand this and not to affect the territorial integrity of the state.