Source: Oken Jeet Sandham (NEPS)
Kohima, May 08:
Senior BJP MLA and Parliamentary Secretary MC Konyak termed as "ridiculous" the statement of the NPCC President Hokheto Sumi that BJP would be vanishing in the coming general elections in the State.
He said, "It is increasing and not vanishing".
Sumi on Monday, while reacting to the earlier statement of Konyak that the BJP would win around 15 seats in the coming general elections in the State, said the party (BJP) would be rather vanishing in the coming general elections in Nagaland.
Talking to NEPS here on Tuesday, the senior BJP MLA wondered as to how the NPCC chief was provoked when he only stated about his party's (BJP) increasing phenomenon in the State.
"I didn't target nor challenge any single political party but only wanted the people to know that the BJP is growing," he said.
"I am surprised the way my esteemed Congress President took it (my statement) as against his party (Congress)".
"Let us see if BJP is vanishing or growing," Konyak stated.
"I don't want to debate further, because the Naga people know very well how the party (BJP) has been sacrificing for the state." Regarding party's defeat in the last by-elections, he maintained that his party had learned a lot from it.
While agreeing to Sumi's claim that the state fully depended on the Center for its developments, Konyak said it was true for any Government in the State.
But the most important thing was that any government in the state should first have full understanding with whichever party was there at the Center for its developments.
At the same time, they should implement whatever projects at their hands in right earnest as per the guidelines and complete them in the stipulated time as they (DAN) had been doing in the last four years, he stated.
"In this, I only reflected the fact that no chief minister in the past had done so such developments especially for the backward districts of the state like DAN chief minister Neiphiu Rio did in the last four years rule," he pointed out.
The former BJP chief also disclosed that in the last four years, the BJP had been playing "positive role" for the benefit of the Naga people, although they were second major partner in the DAN coalition.
"If any Naga leader or citizen forget the magnanimity of the Atal Behari Vajpayee, we are not truthful to ourselves," he asserted.
Stating that the BJP would continue to play positive role without any bias - be it economic issue or political issue, Konyak predicted that in coming Lok Sabha election in 2009, they were quite confident that the BJP-led NDA would come back to power at the Center and the Naga people would get another opportunity of development economically and politically.