After permission for a rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the PA Sangma Sports Complex in Tura was denied by the administration in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district, the BJP’s state unit on Tuesday at the Conrad Sangma government saying “people will forever loathe the CM for this decision”.
“The Director of Sports and Youth Affairs, under direct instructions from a very scared and insecure chief minister, Conrad Sangma, denied us permission to hold a campaign rally at the P. A. Sangma stadium,” BJP leader and the party’s spokesperson in the state, Bernad N Marak, said on Tuesday. He said that it was sad and unfortunate that a sitting prime minister was prevented from meeting fellow citizens.
“The fear of losing the (February 27 Assembly) elections is haunting Conrad Sangma and has driven him crazy. The people of Garo Hills will forever loathe the CM for this decision of his,” Marak said.
However, the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) national president, as well as CM Conrad Sangma, denied the BJP’s allegations, saying he had no role in the denial of permission for PM Modi’s rally. The CM stated that the Election Commission grants permission for campaign rallies and that the district administration follows the poll panel’s directives.
“All permissions come from the s Election Commission of India and based on the same, the district administration takes action as advised. So neither the NPP nor myself had anything to do with it. Dragging us into this is completely wrong. Even I didn’t get permissions for many of my rallies,” he said on Monday.
On the possible reasons why the BJP was denied permission to hold the rally, Sangma said, “It is a fact that when PM Modi holds a programme, a huge crowd gathers to listen to him. So, I believe that the distirct administration might have felt that a huge gathering for the PM’s rally might damage the natural surroundings.”
