Meghalaya VPP hopeful of forming government in 2028

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 19 (UNI): After winning four out of the 18 seats contested in the just concluded Meghalaya Assembly polls, the Voice of the People Party (VPP) is hopeful to form a government on its own in 2028.

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“We have been able to shape the party in such away that it gives our people hope and we want you to know that as leaders, we don’t have any intention to gain personal benefits but our goal is to achieve our target that in 2028, the VPP will form the government on its own,” VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said.

Addressing VPP’s workers and supporters at the ‘gratitude rally’ organised by the party at Polo ground on Saturday, the VPP legislator claimed that many people have approached the party for ticket for the forthcoming autonomous district councils elections in Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills slated to be held next year.

“People from different parties have approached us for ticket. There is a constituency where over 20 people have requested for party ticket. This is because of the strong VPP wave that is going on (in the region),” he said.

Basaiawmoit said that the party has decided to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level and have appointed organising secretaries.

Hitting out at leaders of other regional parties for “acts of betrayals” which has denied the state to get a government led by a regional force following the assembly polls, Basaiawmoit recalled what had happened during the post-poll when leaders of regional parties along with the Congress and Trinamool Congress were making attempts to form a non-National People’s Party (NPP) and non-BJP government in the state.

“We (VPP) were betrayed by the other regional parties and we could not form the government. Therefore, we decided to be in the opposition,” he said.

The NPP, which won 26 seats falling short of five seats for an absolute majority formed the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA 2.0) government for the second consecutive term with the support of the regional parties and BJP.

Stating that the victory of the VPP in the polls is a “threat” to the NPP, Basaiawmoit said, “The NPP is not scared of any political party, but it is scared of the VPP because we may not be able to win many seats but we were able to win against the money power.”

“Many have predicted that the VPP will win only 1 seat but we have won 4 seats. We lost by a very thin margin in Mylliem constituency and the people there have admitted that they were not really in favour of the Congress but they voted for the party just because they want to ensure the NPP is defeated,” he said.

2-day craft bazaar begins at NIFT Shillong

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 16: A two-day Craft Bazaar 2023 organised by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Shillong was inaugurated by the Director of Textiles & Handicrafts, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Haj Dodung today at Umsawli.

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Dodung said that NIFT, Shillong has done commendable work by organising such a programme and creating a platform for artisans to showcase their work and sell their products.

He emphasized the importance of supporting artisans, who are the backbone of the economy, to preserve the tradition of arts and crafts, even in the fast-paced digital world.

The Commissioner and Secretary, Election Department & Chief Electoral Officer of Meghalaya, Frederick Roy Kharkongor, IAS spoke about the importance of contemporizing ethnicity and folk stories in handloom and handicraft of the region.

While speaking at the launch of the event, the Campus Director Shri Shankar Kumar Jha expressed his appreciation for the artisans’ work and emphasized the critical role that institutions such as NIFT play in promoting and showcasing the unique and creative crafts of India globally in collaboration with artisan community.

The Craft Bazaar is a unique initiative of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, designed to provide a platform for artisans of Handicrafts and Handlooms to showcase their work and sell their products.

Artisans from 23 clusters of North East India were invited to participate in the Craft Bazaar 2023, where they displayed their unique and creative crafts. The display left the attendees impressed and fascinated, some of the crafts on display included native beads and Viko from Nagaland, handlooms from Aizawl and Guwahati and weaving of Meghalaya.

The two-day Craft Bazaar will conclude on March 17, 2023, and is open to the general public, who can visit the NIFT campus and buy handicrafts and handlooms directly from the artisans.

NIFT-Shillong to host 2-day Craft bazaar

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 15: The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Shillong will be hosting a two-day Craft Bazaar on March 16-17 at the NIFT campus in Umsawli Mawpat.

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The event is inspired by Father of the Nation-Mahatma Gandhi’s “Swadeshi Movement” and will be showcasing a diverse range of handloom and handicrafts from North East India.

Craft Bazaar 2023 is intended to promote and empower artisans, weavers and entrepreneurs of the North Eastern Region. The Chief Guest for the occassion will be Haj Dodung, Director of Textiles & Handicrafts, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. The Inaugural function is scheduled to start at 10 A.M.

About 14 stalls will be exhibiting and selling exquisite works of 22 artisans and weavers from the NE region including Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya.

The stalls will be showcasing products like Cane-Bamboo, Jewelry, Handloom, Weaving, Embroidery, Dry Flowers, Black Pottery, Textiles, and many more.

Meghalaya: VPP to organize ‘rally of gratitude’ at Polo Ground

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 14: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) will organise the ‘rally of gratitude’ at Polo Ground on March 18.

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In the rally, there will be a speech of gratitude to the people of the state for their immense support to the party from its president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, party spokesman Dr Batskhem Myrboh said in a statement issued today.

Also, there will be a felicitation for the composer and singer of the party song, ‘Kongdeng Kongnah ha U Prah’.

All the supporters and sympathisers of the Party are cordially invited to attend the rally, he said.

The VPP won in 4 out of 59 Assembly seats in the just concluded 2023 polls.

Stories of a Shillong boy Part 1: Hill Boy and the Desert

There is a little 10 year old boy in Shillong who has a funny way of looking at things. I call him “Ray” – A named derived from his Khasi first name. I am his mother and this is one of the many stories I have about him.

Now Ray had an intense hate for two subjects in school – science and geography. I’m still drawing nonsensical circles around science, but I think I’ve cracked geography and a geography lesson is one of the most fun things we do together now. I want to talk about a lesson we did a little while ago.

In this lesson, we read about the Thar Desert. The book said something really scary to Ray. It told him that the desert is expanding because we cut down forests and let our cattle eat away all our grasslands. This really worried him. Before we could go on with the lesson, he said, “But I don’t want the desert to reach the Meghalaya.”

I looked at him and said, “It won’t.”

“But the book says that it will.” He insists. “I don’t want to live in a desert.”

I had to think for a bit. See Ray has this way of getting fixated on something and then he dwells on it – a reason why I tutor him myself by redoing every chapter that his teachers have taught in school. His head is full of questions that he would never ask in a classroom kind of space, but he would demand an answer out of me.

“It will not happen tomorrow Ray.” I said, “We’ll all be dead and gone by then. There is no need to stress.”

This did not put him at ease at all. He was worried. “I don’t want to live in India anymore if the desert is growing mei. We have to leave India.”

“There are deserts everywhere.” I said.

“This can happen all over the world?” he asked sounding completely helpless.

“Yes.” I said thinking of Mad Max Fury Road. “But it won’t happen anytime soon. It will probably happen during the time of your great great great great grandchild so you have nothing to worry about.”

This calmed him down for a little while and I was able to finish the lesson. He had his dinner after that, brushed his teeth and got into bed.

As I was tucking him in he said softly, “But I want my great great great great grand son or daughter to live also.”

And it suddenly struck me that even I want my great great great great great grandchild to live.

(This piece has been written by Dalariti Nongpiur with illustrations by Hazel Kharkongor)

Meghalaya: VPP already gearing up for 2024 MP polls

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 8: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) has appealed to the citizens of the state to support the party candidates for the upcoming district council and MP elections to be held next year.

In a statement, VPP spokesperson Dr Batskhem Myrboh said however, as of now the party has not decided the names of the candidates for these elections. “The matter will be decided by the party at the appropriate time,” he added.

Expressing appreciation and gratitude to all the supporters of the party across the state, Dr Myrboh said, “Your strong support has made a mark in the politics of Meghalaya when four of our candidates emerge victoriously to represent the issues affecting the citizens of the state. Your support to the party that stands for clean and principled politics and substantive democracy provides hope that the state of Meghalaya will one day be a model state in India- a state that we will be proud of.”

The VPP has won 4 seats in the 60-member House in the just concluded 2023 Assembly polls.