Meghalaya: NPYF hits back at UDP leader Jemino Mawthoh, calls him an ‘opportunist’

SHILLONG:

The National People’s Youth Front (NPYF), on Tuesday, called the General Secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Jemino Mawthoh, an “opportunist seeking to gain political mileage” from the current power issue in Meghalaya.

“Knowing the difficulties related to electricity that the government was trying to solve, Mawthoh – who has been a silent spectator of politics all this while – suddenly found a good opportunity to gain political mileage,” NPYF National Working President Nickey Nongkhlaw told reporters on Tuesday.

Mawthoh, who is a leader of the UDP, an ally of the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, on Monday, wrote to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma demanding the ousting of Power Minister James Sangma along with the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) over the prevailing ‘power mess’ in the state.

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Reacting to this, Nongkhlaw questioned Mawthoh’s understanding of administration and politics.

“Ousting a people’s elected representative and an administrative head does not solve any problem. Rather, it delays solutions,” he said.

“Under Mr Mawthoh’s paradigm, MeECL would have been a headless chicken without leadership to negotiate with the situation, thereby, delaying difficulties furthermore,” the NPYF leader said.

“Mawthoh is fishing in troubled waters because the 2023 elections are coming up,” Nongkhlaw alleged.

“Mawthoh should stop being a hypocrite and avoid sounding like a mouthpiece of a dying party like Congress,” he added.

Nongkhlaw also questioned how Mawthoh fits into a party like the UDP, which has remained close partners with the NPP-led government in “solving issues and being answerable to people.”

“With such mature leadership shown from them in times of crisis, it is sometimes a head-scratcher to figure out how Mr Mawthoh fits into such a party,” Nongkhlaw said.

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Besides this, Nongkhlaw questioned Mawthoh’s silence over the teachers’ issue.

“There are so many other issues. Why is he not talking about those? Why is he targeting only this department? Many protests were carried out by the teachers recently. As a teacher himself, did he raise the issue?” Nongkhlaw asked.

When asked whether his statement targeted Mawthoh alone or the entire UDP party, Nongkhlaw said, “It could have been his individual opinion. Just like when BJP state president Ernest Mawrie had levelled allegations against the government. That was Mawrie’s opinion, not his party. This is a similar case. It was his (Mawthoh) opinion, not necessarily his party.”

For the past few days, Meghalaya experienced power cuts after NEEPCO had regulated power supply in the state because of the failure of Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) to pay the outstanding dues of Rs 504.41 crore.

After three days, NEEPCO agreed to withdraw load shedding in the state following the payment of the second instalment.

(Edited by Andre Kongri)