SHILLONG, Dec 22 - In a dramatic development, the Meghalaya BJP today passed a resolution on �zero tolerance on corruption�, stating that �many people in the rural areas as well as in the urban areas were victims of bad governance in the State�.
The State party unit of the saffron party, already at loggerheads with the ruling NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government over issues relating to corruption in governance, has added fuel to the fire by passing the resolution.
In a meeting presided over by Meghalaya BJP chief Ernest Mawrie, the party adopted the resolution moved by State BJP vice president Bernard Marak. Marak has been vocal about the alleged illegal coal mining and transportation in the State.
�In Meghalaya, the BJP was thought to be a communal party, but now it is being seen as the guardian of the common people. Other political parties which spread communal propaganda against the BJP stand exposed in the public eyes for not being able to take up issues in the manner of the BJP,� Mawrie said.
He said the party would raise issues of �corruption, misappropriation of funds, irregularities in implementation of projects and bad governance�. The BJP has touched the lives of many people in the rural areas as well as in the urban areas as they have been victims of bad governance in the State, he added.
The NPP-led Government is not amused by the BJP raising corruption allegations against it considering the saffron party is also a part of the alliance. On several occasions, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong have dared the BJP to leave the alliance if it is unhappy with the functioning of the Government.
However, the two BJP legislators � Sanbor Shullai and AL Hek � are supportive of the MDA Government. Hek is the State Health Minister with a Cabinet rank. The duo have strongly opposed the State unit of the party for publicly raising allegations of corruption against the Government.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya BJP president said: �The issue of hardship faced by the masses has been raised by the BJP before any other political party and that has changed the overall perception about the BJP. The BJP is gaining support among the masses which will enable it to win double-digit seats in the next Assembly election.�
He added that the BJP has made its presence felt as the �guardian of the common men rather than as a political party�. People have now got the impression that the BJP understands the public woes and they have somehow come to relate to the party�s ideology, Mawrie said.