Newly inducted cabinet minister and BJP leader Sanbor Shullai on Wednesday pitched strongly for railway connectivity in Meghalaya, urging stakeholders, including pressure groups, to reconsider their opposition and allow goods trains to reach Byrnihat.
Speaking to reporters, Shullai drew comparisons with other northeastern states that have benefitted from railway infrastructure. “Hopefully in our state also under the leadership of Conrad K Sangma, we will discuss and convince and enlighten the NGOs also that they have to look at what is happening in Garo Hills and other north eastern states like Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh. Here also the NGOs and stakeholders, we should accept the railway tracks to ensure at least the goods train should come up to Byrnihat,” the minister stated.
On the demand for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and concerns over influx, Shullai said, “ILP is a central subject, we keep on discussing whenever I go to Delhi, I remind the Ministers, the leaders in Delhi, so it’s not in our hand. So hopefully one day all these things will happen.”
Making a political pitch, Shullai appealed to the people of Meghalaya to give BJP a full mandate. “Give one chance to BJP to form the government, at least give them 31 MLAs,” he said.
