SHILLONG: The Meghalaya unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an RTI (Right to Information) offensive against the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, of which it is also an ally.
The party is planning to file RTI applications at different levels to hold the government accountable for its “subpar execution” of central programmes, starting Monday.
Bernard N Marak, Tura MDC and State BJP vice president, said that since the government offices started functioning properly post the holidays from this week, the saffron party will take up the issue at various levels.
Despite being an ally of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in the MDA, the state BJP aims to use the RTI mechanism to gather information on the status of central schemes.
Marak highlighted the party’s commitment to transparency and accountability, mentioning that the results of their scrutiny would be shared with the Centre for appropriate action.
“We are constantly in contact with the villagers even without RTI; concerned officers are looking after the schemes as requested by our members. Still, we will file RTIs to get details of each and every central scheme,” he told a local daily.
The party is already engaged in inspecting and studying the implementation of various central schemes, including the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), among others.
Marak highlighted their intention to compare and compile a report to be forwarded to the Centre, seeking appropriate actions.
While the state BJP has been vocal about the substandard implementation of central schemes in Meghalaya for years, there has been minimal action on the ground.
Despite occasional claims and promises during poll campaigns, there has been a lack of concrete responses from the Centre.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had labelled Meghalaya as “one of the most corrupt states in the country” and pledged to “finish corruption” in the state.
The NPP, however, has consistently refuted the BJP’s allegations, dismissing them as baseless charges.
