Congress Banks on ‘Truth’ Campaign in GHADC Polls, Takes Dig at NPP’s ‘Cultural Erosion’

Tura: With the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections drawing near, the Congress is adopting a realistic yet combative stance, acknowledging it has “nothing to lose” as it currently holds no seats in the Meghalaya Assembly.

Tura MP and senior Congress leader Saleng A. Sangma told reporters on Monday that the party will turn the campaign into a platform to expose ground realities, particularly the rampant drug menace, erosion of Garo culture and traditions, and the alleged encroachment of the Panchayati Raj system on Sixth Schedule rights.

Sangma accused the ruling National People’s Party (NPP)-led government of systematically weakening the autonomous district councils by seizing their powers and facilitating land alienation in tribal areas.

“We will place the truth before the people – who is protecting Garo identity and who is destroying it,” the MP said, adding that voters will ultimately decide whether to reward those safeguarding their culture or those undermining it.

Dismissing the NPP’s attempts to link the Congress’s poor showing in the recent Bihar Assembly polls to Meghalaya, Sangma asserted that the two states are “completely different” and that Bihar’s results will have zero bearing on local sentiment.

On the role of money power, which traditionally influences council elections, Sangma remarked, “Money can buy votes for a few days, but only the people can bring real change in a democracy.” He urged voters to look beyond temporary inducements and focus on long-term protection of tribal rights and identity.

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