Shillong, September 25: BJP leader and Cabinet minister Sanbor Shullai on Friday welcomed the decision of eight UDP legislators to join the BJP, describing the development as a sign that people in Meghalaya are moving beyond allegations that the party is “anti-Christian” and are increasingly prioritising development.
Reacting to the legislators joining the BJP in New Delhi, Shullai said he was pleased with their decision and praised them for what he described as their farsightedness and commitment to their constituencies and the state. “It is a message to the people of Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills that they should praise the MLAs who have farsightedness and love their constituencies and state. The issues they raise are genuine and in the overall interest of Meghalaya,” he said.
Shullai compared the criticism currently faced by the BJP with the opposition encountered by the Congress in earlier years. “In the old days, people used to say that the Congress was a foreign party and did not accept it, but later they understood and accepted it. Now, they allege that the BJP is an anti-Christian party,” he said. The BJP leader claimed that constituencies represented by his party witnessed greater development, prosperity and peace, citing his own constituency and other BJP-held seats.
Shullai said public sentiment across the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills regions was changing, with people expressing dissatisfaction with other political parties and looking towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “As I attend programmes across Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills, people say they are tired of other parties and will now look towards Narendra Modi,” he said.
He further claimed that people were increasingly judging the BJP by development initiatives and welfare benefits, including water supply, food grains, cooking gas, farmers’ schemes, rural electrification, roads and footpaths.
Shullai maintained that Meghalaya had witnessed significant progress during the past decade under the Modi-led government and asserted that voters would no longer be influenced by allegations portraying the BJP as anti-Christian.
