Shillong, Nov 22: Terming the ‘begging bowl’ remark of BJP in-charge Meghalaya Dr Chuba Ao as highly regrettable and illogical, National People’s Party (NPP) national vice president and Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Monday said Dr Ao is too young in politics to have made the remark.

“Mr Ao is too young in politics. He needs some training because a person of his stature is talking that way. I think that is nonsense and illogical,” said Tynsong while expressing regret that Dr. Ao made the remark despite belonging to North East region.

Stating that be it BJP or Congress ruled, any states are bound to go to the central government, Tynsong said, “It doesn’t mean that if you have BJP government here or like Assam (which is a BJP ruled state) are you trying to say that they don’t need to go to Delhi or what? They have to go to Delhi. Dr Himanta Biswa has to go to Delhi and then push for developmental grants.”

If he sees the BJP playing a role of an opposition more than a coalition partner, the deputy CM however said, “I don’t say BJP, for me I talk to the person concerned. Maybe it is his own opinion, Mr Ao when he talked about it I think he forgets himself that he was a leader of the BJP but that should not be the way to make a statement.”

“As I said to you be it BJP government, be it Congress government, be it any government, be it TMC government, be it that coalition government in Maharashtra, chief ministers and ministers, we need to go to Delhi, we need to request as once proposal is submitted means you cannot just sit at home it doesn’t mean that the money will just come from heaven and then straight away to your secretariat. We need to discuss and negotiate and follow it up. You know that is the system we are doing,” he asserted.

Tynsong also asked the BJP leader to specifically pin point which are the central schemes where the state is lacking in terms of implementation.

“As I said to you right now, if you talked about this NREGA, we are the best performing state now throughout India. And you talked about JJM, we are doing well. You talked about PMGSY, construction of roads, we are doing more than what the central government expected,” he said.