Mawrie eyes Lok Sabha seat
Staff Reporter
Shillong, April 4: BJP state President Ernest Mawrie has stated that he is ready to be the candidate of the party from the Shillong parliamentary seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state.
“As president of the party, if the party decides, I am ready to be the candidate of the party for the Lok Sabha election from the Shillong seat. I will not deny the decision of the party,” Mawrie told reporters today.
He however informed that the party is yet to discuss the candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state while reacting to reports that top leaders including M Kharkrang and HM Shangpliang are vying for the party ticket for the election.
The party has formed the Lok Sabha Prabhas and it will be headed by the state general secretary GC Nongbet as convener and there will be three co-conveners.
“Our main intention is to strengthen the party. The Lok Sabha Prabhas will go to each and every constituency to strengthen the organization,” he said.
Mawrie said it is too early now to identify the candidates since the party has one year to prepare adding “But we will look for winnable candidates as we are serious to win in both the seats – Shillong and Tura.”
Ex-Servicemen to join protest over OROP
Staff Reporter
Shillong, April 4: The General Secretary of the Meghalaya Ex-servicemen League Buam Myrthong today said that they will be forced to take part in the protest against the disparity when it comes to One Rank One Pension (OROP).
Speaking to media persons, Myrthong said that all ex-servicemen from the state have decided to lend support to the fellow ex-servicemen who will be protesting in Delhi against the alleged disparity in the OROP.
Myrthong said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken the decision to implement OROP I in 2014 but there are still many issues which the ex-servicemen faced since 2014 which compel the ex-servicemen to come and protest in Delhi to demand for review of the OROP II.
He added that there is a disparity in the OROP as there is a difference of Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000 between one rank within the army and since the cost of essential commodities is increasing day by day, it is injustice for ex-servicemen who have served the country.
“This protest against the alleged disparity in OROP is not only happening in Delhi but it is witnessed in different parts of the country and those who can travel to Delhi are already in the national capital to take part in the protest for the common interest of all ex-servicemen,” said Myrthong.
Myrthong said that it has been 42 days since the ex-servicemen are protesting in Jantar Mantar in Delhi but till date there has been no response from the central government to address this issue of all ex-servicemen.
He added that in the OROP II, the central government plans to implement equal pay for all who are in the same rank and who have the same amount of years in their respective services.