Shillong: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Rituraj Sinha on Sunday questioned the National People's Party (NPP) government in poll-bound Meghalaya for denying permission for holding a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tura.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Meghalaya on February 24 ahead of the assembly elections to be held later this month.
The BJP had planned to organise a mega rally of PM Modi in Tura on February 24. The BJP, however, said that permission to hold the rally at Tura's PA Sangma Stadium was denied by the state government, citing the stadium was still under construction.
Speaking to ANI, Sinha said, "We requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a roadshow in Shillong and a public rally in Tura, Garo hills. We sought permission for PA Sangma stadium to organise a PM rally but we are surprised to know that the stadium is under construction and not ready. So they sent a letter that PM's rally could not be held there. The entire country and the people of Meghalaya know that PA Sangma stadium was inaugurated by CM Conrad Sangma on December 16 itself in a grand manner."
The BJP leader said NPP and other parties sensed a "Modi wave in Meghalaya" and therefore stopping PM Modi's rally in the state is a deliberated attempt.
"The stadium which was ready on December 16, how come it is under construction again in February end? Why it is not available for the PM's rally? The reason is political. It seems that opposition parties like NPP, TMC and Congress are scared of the Modi wave here. The people of Meghalaya want a BJP government like other northeastern states," he added.
Notably, Tura, part of Garo Hills, is considered the bastion of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and a majority of his legislators elected from this region.
Voting for the 60-seat Meghalaya Legislative Assembly will be held in a single phase on February 27. The counting of votes will be done on March 2.
