SHILLONG, AUG 13: The National People’s Youth Front (NPYF), the youth wing of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), on Saturday said the alleged failure of the opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) or TMC legislators to raise the issue of Inner Line Permit (ILP) was because they have been asked not to touch on the subject as it would affect their party’s vote bank.

Referring to the recent protest staged by 8 AITC legislators in New Delhi demanding the Centre to revoke the MoU signed between Meghalaya and Assam and immediate inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the 8th Schedule to the Constitution of India, NPYF national working president Nicky Nongkhlaw questioned their failure to raise the issue for implementation of ILP, which is a long pending demand of the tribal people of the state.

“May be this was the instruction given to them (8 MLAs) not to touch on such a subject which will be very sensitive for their vote bank. That might be a very important factor as to why they have not raised this issue up, they have not taken this up,” Nongkhlaw quipped.

He also reminded that the top leadership of the party is in support of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

“In 2020, Mamata Banerjee gave an open statement that all Bangladeshi migrants settled in West Bengal are Indian citizens. This is the same party which is ironically talking about ILP in Meghalaya,” Nongkhlaw said adding “It is a question to Mukul Sangma, why is he supporting a party which supports illegal Bangladeshi immigration?”

Stating that TMC is trying really hard to whitewash its history riddled with corruption, scams and cheating the common people, the NPYF leader said the party has no ideology due to which it has terribly failed across all states that it has contested in. It got zero seats in Goa elections because electorates saw through their lies.

Accusing that all their leaders stink of scams and cheating, Nongkhlaw said that TMC’s All India General Secretary and nephew of Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee is connected to a money laundering case linked to the Bengal Coal scam due to which the Enforcement Directorate is now questioning this corrupt leader. Abhishek did not even leave his wife out of the scam and both of them are being questioned.

He further stated that while being in the TMC’s cabinet, Partha Chatterjee looted over Rs 50 crores of public money through the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) multi-crore scam and yet the party was silent. His deeds, which have spoiled the future of many children and teachers, show what kind of a party the TMC is, which only took action after being shamed by the public.

Nongkhlaw also alleged that Anubrata Mondal has been heavily supported by all TMC members despite being arrested by the CBI in a cattle smuggling case on August 11, 2022. Mondal facilitated cattle smuggling across the Bangladesh border by paying money to BSF personnel manning the international border. Shameless to say the least, he said.

In July 2022, he said the Enforcement Directorate said that properties worth Rs 13.63 crore belonging to a company linked to TMC youth wing leader Vinay Mishra was involved in money laundering.

CBI also registered an FIR against the corrupt TMC leader, stating that Mishra was involved in a multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scams related to Eastern Coalfields Limited mines in Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol.

He said another TMC MLA and a former president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, Manik Bhattacharya, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the money laundering aspect of the SSC Teacher Recruitment scam. He was summoned after Partha Chatterjee’s arrest.

Meanwhile, Nongkhlaw also said that the TMC is also an anti-farmer party and is tremendously harmful for an agrarian state like Meghalaya.

“Let people be reminded that Mamata Banerjee protested against Tata in Singur, saying farmers are losing their land and livelihood. They used this for petty political mileage. After being in power for the second time, TMC has not done anything for those farmers, who sit landless even today,” he stated.