SHILLONG, March 20 - The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) common candidate, Jemino Mawthoh today filed his nomination papers at the Deputy Commissioner�s office here for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat and said regional parties can contribute more towards the State�s development than national parties.
Speaking to media persons after filling his nomination, Mawthoh expressed confidence of winning the Shillong seat and trained his guns at the Congress and said nothing was done by the party in the past 10 years towards development of the State.
Mawthoh would be contesting Parliamentary election for the first time and is pitted against Congress heavyweight and sitting MP Vincent Pala, who is seeking the mandate for a third term. Mawthoh said, it is wrong to assume that regional parties won�t have much say in the Parliament.
Mawthoh is from the regional United Democratic Party (UDP). However, the partners in the MDA, which includes the National People�s Party, UDP, Hill State People�s Democratic Party, People�s Democratic Front and Independents, have projected Mawthoh as its common candidate for the Shillong seat.
Citing the example of late Prof GG Swell, who was a regional party man and went to the Parliament for several terms, Mawthoh said, he too can similarly contribute fruitfully if given the mandate by the people.
�I can be the linkman between the Centre and the State Government, if I am elected,� he added. However, Mawthoh also knows that he has a formidable challenge as the Shillong seat has been a Congress bastion for years now.
The Congress has held the Shillong seat since 1998. Pala, who is yet to file his nomination papers, exuded confidence of retaining the seat. The Congress has already accused the MDA candidate of siding with the BJP, which would be the focus for the Congress during its campaign.
It�s most likely that the Congress would raise the issue of �beef ban,� and the Citizen�s (Amendment) Bill to attack the MDA candidate by terming it the B-team of the BJP.
Mawthoh, however, said that the Congress in fact was the party that brought in a legislation banning cow slaughter in the country years back and its party symbol earlier was the Cow.
He further said that the Congress brought in the Act on citizenship before the BJP and added the party therefore spoke little against the Bill in the recent Lok Sabha session when it was brought up by the BJP.
