Correspondent
Shillong, Jul 22: The youth wing of Meghalaya’s opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Wednesday strongly condemned state BJP Youth president Mewaker Lyngdoh Pakma, who courted controversy by demanding that Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protestors in New Delhi “be shot”.
In a statement, VPP Youth Wing President Marbud Dkhar objected to Pakma’s alleged social media post, “Shoot them! Tear gas ain’t enough!”, describing it as inflammatory and unacceptable. The BJP youth president also shared the hashtag #UAPA_Sedition (UAPA is the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act).
Accusing the BJP youth leader of promoting violence against unarmed protesters, Dkhar said such statements were incompatible with democratic values.
“A leader who casually asks for student protesters to be shot has lost all moral right to lead the youth. This is not leadership, this is a dangerous display of fascist ideology,” the VPP Youth Wing leader stated.
Demanding for immediate and strict action against Pakma for his inflammatory social media remark, the VPP said, “If the BJP does not act, it proves that this is not his personal view, but the party’s official policy.” However, the Meghalaya unit of the BJP has dismissed Pakma’s statement, describing it as ‘false’ and asserting that the party does not endorse any such remarks.
BJP Meghalaya spokesperson Arnab Das said the party had sought clarification from its Yuva Morcha president, who categorically denied making the statements attributed to him.
The BJP’s clarification came amid criticism from the Opposition Congress, pressure groups and civil society organisations, which had condemned Pakma’s alleged controversial social media post.
“The party strongly denies making any such irresponsible statements. Official statements of the party are always issued through proper channels,” Das said.
Stating that the Meghalaya BJP respects the fundamental right of students to hold peaceful protests, including the ongoing demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Das said the party, however, opposed what it described as attempts by political parties to “hijack” the students’ movement and derive political benefit from it.
He said the party has condemned incidents of violence against police personnel and appealed to the protesting students to maintain peace and not allow opposition parties to take advantage of the situation for political purposes.
The BJP further criticised the Congress for allegedly attempting to enter the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying such actions raise concerns about the security of the prime minister.
“This questions their intent and the threat posed to the PM’s security who heads the world’s largest democracy,” it said.
On the NEET paper leak controversy, Das said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that 13 arrests had been made in connection with the case.
The party maintained that the Union government had acted promptly and that comprehensive reforms would be undertaken to strengthen the examination system.
“The country needed to remain patient as implementing such reforms would take time, given India’s large population and federal administrative structure,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Modi remained committed to bringing about lasting reforms in the education system to secure the future of students.