SHILLONG: Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma has ‘adviced’ the media to “stop wasting time” by making queries related to the challenge of an open debate given by TMC leader Saket Gokhale to the Meghalaya government.
Reply to a query on the matter, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma said that the challenge given by TMC leader Saket Gokhale was ‘unreasonable’.
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“Is it in any way relevant? Is it possible for the government to have a debate with anybody who comes up on social media, who says I want to have a debate with you? It’s a very unreasonable. I think even the press should not push this matter,” said Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma.
“I think space in the media is being wasted. I suggest we do not talk about this anymore,” the Meghalaya chief minister added.
Meanwhile, war of words between the ruling dispensation in Meghalaya and senior TMC leader Saket Gokhale escalated further in recent times with the latter saying that Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma is suffering from ‘selective amnesia’.
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“…this selective amnesia might be a result of reluctance to debate the misgovernance of the MDA government,” TMC leader Saket Gokhale had stated in a letter to Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma.
The TMC leader made this statement in response to Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma’s earlier remark: “I don’t know who Saket Gokhale is.”
“Let me rewind your memory back to 2019 when we had dinner together at a famous restaurant in New Delhi and talked about a wide range of topics,” said TMC leader Saket Gokhale.
Saket Gokhale had earlier dared Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong for a face-to-face debate over ‘misgovernance’ in the state in the presence of the media.
“Over the last 1 week, several people from the NPP have spoken. Like you, they have all used distractionary tactics and frivolous excuses to escape from debating the one single point that matters i.e. the issues of misgovernance in Meghalaya,” TMC leader Saket Gokhale said.
He added: “It makes one wonder why the MDA government would be so afraid of a public debate if it is confident about its governance and has nothing to hide.”
He added: “I’m, therefore, re-iterating my challenge for an open debate. If your government hasn’t done any wrong, I see no reason why you or your ministers should be so afraid of a public debate on very pressing issues.”