Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 15: NPP national general secretary and deputy chief minister Sniawbhalang Dhar has opined that the opposition Congress has been admitted in an intensive care unit (ICU) and that it would be pointless to re-elect its candidate and sitting MP Vincent H Pala from Shillong parliamentary seat.

He said that it would also be pointless for people to vote for the opposition Voice of People Party (VPP) and United Democratic Party (UDP) as they will only end up in Byrnihat and will reach nowhere.

Addressing at a meeting held at Byrnihat, Ri Bhoi on Thursday, to drum up support to the NPP’s candidate for Shillong and cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, Dhar said there are around 4-5 candidates, who will be contesting in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.  

“However, the candidate of the UDP will not reach anywhere and the VPP candidate also as you all know will only end up in Nongpoh (Byrnihat),” he said. He also alleged that voters, especially Garos and non-tribal, are not inclined towards the two parties.

Also alleging that the Congress is a sinking party, Dhar said, “Congress is a party, which is already in the ICU and we don’t know what will happen to it. The grand old party now has only 5 MLAs (in Meghalaya). The party, which had ruled the Centre once with a majority of 543 now is being reduced to only 40-50 and in this coming election, I don’t think they will even cross 40 seats. So why should we want to send the Congress MP. If we send (the Congress), we are fighting a losing battle already.”

“Therefore, I urge the people that the only option now is for you to vote for NPP’s Ampareen Lyngdoh,” he added.

He also said that the people will be best judge on the performance of Pala during the past 15 years.

Meanwhile, Dhar informed that as transport minister he had taken up with the Centre for sanctioning of eight laning road from Khanapara to Byrnihat and four lane road from Umroi to Jaintia Hills to ease the ever growing traffic jams.

The deputy chief minister also lauded the Jirang MLA Sosthenes Sohtun for working very hard to bring development to the constituency. He said the MLA would even fight with CM every evening for development of his constituency.

“Therefore, it is visible that this constituency is not lacking behind be it roads, water supply, education sector and others,” Dhar said while adding that Jirang and Ranikor were among the constituencies which received the maximum development from the government.

“Sohtun is one of the most dynamic and hardworking MLA I should say. He fights almost every evening with the CM in his office. Today he came and asked for water and another 2-3 days he asked for roads and sometimes when he came and opened the door, CM would say what you want now. That is why he cares for his people.

In his speech, former Sohiong MLA Samlin Malngiang said that the NPP is a party which has principles and has leaders like Conrad K Sangma and two deputy CMs – Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar. “Therefore, people should vote for the NPP in the upcoming polls to ensure all round development of the state,” he said.

The meeting was presided by Jirang MLA and attended by leaders and workers of the party.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, April 4: The Governor of Meghalaya, Phagu Chauhan today graced the 36th Convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at IGNOU Regional Center Shillong, NEHU Campus. The Convocation was part of the main function conducted at IGNOU Headquarters at New Delhi and also simultaneously in all 33 Regional Centers across the country.

Delivering the Convocation Address, the Governor lauded the Indira Gandhi National Open University for taking the national responsibility of promoting and setting benchmarks for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and online education (OL) in Meghalasystems in India and the world. “IGNOU, which is known to be the World’s largest open University with above 3 million enrolments of students in different IGNOU programmes, has made significant contributions to democratizing Higher Education in the country by providing access to a large number of aspirants through the Open & Distance mode and through online mode,” he added.

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Stressing on the need for shifting from the conventional degree to Skill Development, Employability, Entrepreneurship and Community Development programs, the Governor reiterated the importance for every University in India to make its academic programmes more futuristic and need-oriented. “The NEP puts a greater emphasis on restructuring academic programmes to make them multidisciplinary and holistic. Academic programmes should focus not only on the creation of new knowledge but also to acquire skills required for the job market”, he said.

The Governor further stated that to fulfill India’s mission and goal set by NEP 2020, there is a need of the hour to make a collaborative framework between Central and State government institutes to identify skill-based bridge courses in the emerging area of professional/vocational programmes.

Established in April 1988, IGNOU Regional Centre Shillong at present has 21 Learner Support Services covering 10 districts of Meghalaya. This year 1319 learners are being conferred Degrees/ Diplomas/ certificates for this 36th Convocation under the Shillong Regional Centre.