PM Modi inaugurated projects initiated by Cong: Loken
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, January 04 2022: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated several projects, worth over Rs 4 crore, during his visit to the state on Tuesday.

However, the projects were not taken up by the BJP government but by the Congress party during its rule for 15 years.

The PM should stop trying to win the votes of the people by inaugurating the said projects during the time of elections, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president N Loken has stated.

Addressing a press meet held at Congress Bhawan here on Tuesday, Loken pointed aut that the BJP government delayed the inauguration of Several projects completed by the then Congress government, for the last 4 years and 9 months.

However, PM Modi inaugurated several projects on Tuesday, all of which could not be inaugurated in time during Congress' rule due to economic blockades.

The foundation stones for the 9 projects, which the PM laid on Tuesday, were already done so by Congress, he added.

While questioning if the BJP has been able to live up to its promise made in 2017 to achieve within five years what the then Congress government could not perform in 15 years, he contended that deception has been the mainstay of BJP's agenda to win elections at any cost.

Clarifying that he never made any statements on the victory of only 15 Congress MLAs in his New Year greetings, as was reported by some media outlets; Loken commented on BJP's claims of winning 41 seats in the upcoming polls, adding that BJP will win around 15-16 seats only.

Loken continued: "BJP secured 21 seats in the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly Elections in 2017 .

However, dissatisfied with the operations of the BJP government, three of its MLAs resigned in July, 2021 .

The government which could not satisfy even 21 MLAs cannot hope to satisfy the 31 lakh people in the state.

Presently, there are only 22 BJP MLAs, after 4 MLAs got elected in the by-elections.

The Court then reinstated two more MLAs raising the number to 24.Another MLA, who posed as an independent but secretly supported by BJP, joined the party and further increased the number of MLAs to 25 .

Recently, sports minister Letpao Haokip joined BJP, taking the number of MLAs to 26, six of whom are from the hills.

"Recently, the state is witnessing frequent visits by the PM and union ministers.

If these leaders were to give the votes, BJP will win more than 40 seats.

However, in a democracy, the people hold the power.

They are well aware of how BJP has governed the country and state.

As such, of the 20 incumbent BJP MLAs in the valley, it would be difficult to even secure 11 seats, let alone winning any seats in the hills.

As the election draws near, BJP's seats will only decrease, he claimed.

Observing that BJP can intervene in 6 constituencies in the hills, the MPCC president remarked that people know the reason behind Letpao Haokip's decision to contest from Tengnoupal, instead of his own constituency Chandel, wherein he won as an NPP candidate.

BJP's collusion with SoO outfits is also known by the public.

During the 2017 elections, Congress won 8 seats in the hills despite the restrictions imposed against the party in the hills, while BJP won only 3 seats, he recalled.

Stating that the upcoming polls would be more difficult for BJP, Loken said: "BJP is now facing several boycotts due to its many false promises and failure to do anything prospective for the welfare of the people.

The launch of Health cards and UJWALA schemes are to serve their election campaign interests.

No significant work/development has been taken up during the combined 13-years rule of PM Modi and late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while the then UPA government, under the leadership of PM Dr Manmohan, saw to the launch of acclaimed schemes - MGNREGA, RTE, NFSA, etc" .

Contending that Manipur would regress until the BJP government is dismissed, he informed that Congress candidates are working at their best in their respective constituencies to ensure the formation of Congress government in the upcoming polls.

BJP has been unable to translate the promises mentioned in its vision document into action and as such, they will be receiving their due retribution from the people in the upcoming election, he stated.

Meanwhile, with regard to Tengnoupal AC representative D Korungthang, Loken said that the party has come across his resignation from the party on social media platforms, which is in violation of the constitution of INC.

As such, the MPCC president announced that Korungthang has been suspended from Congress for anti-party activities.

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