HSPDP wants Meghalaya under Article 371, hits out at BJP for promoting RSS agenda

Accusing the BJP-led Central government of promoting the RSS ideology, Meghalaya's opposition Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) on Tuesday demanded that the state be included under the special provision of the Constitution's Article 371.

Kickstarting its election campaign here, the HSPDP also castigated the BJP's move to introduce the Uniform Civil Code to fulfill the RSS agenda to make India a "Hindu Rashtra".

"India is known as country of unity in diversity, but the BJP wants to turn it into unity in uniformity. They are even planning to scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and the aim of the BJP government at the centre is to have one religion in the country," said HSPDP supremo Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit.

Harping on the need to include Meghalaya under the special provisions of Article 371, similar to Article 371 A and Article 371 G being accorded to Nagaland and Mizoram respectively, he said that Meghalaya too needed to be brought under special provisions of the Constitution to protect the political-socio-economic interest of its indigenous people.

Addressingparty supporters from across the Khasi-Jaintia Hill region in eastern part of the state, he lamented that even after 45 years of statehood, Meghalaya was lagging behind in socio-economic sphere and asked people to oust the ruling Congress and prevent other national parties from ruling the state.

Basaiawmoit said that the HSPDP had stitched a pre-poll alliance with the United Democratic Party to pave way for the regional parties to form the new government.

Elections to the 60-member Meghalaya assembly is scheduled to be held on February-March 2018.

--IANS

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