Bernard N. Marak, Meghalaya BJP vice-president
A former extremist and vice-president of Meghalaya BJP unit , Bernard N. Marak made news in July 2022 when he was arrested for allegedly running a sex racket from his farmhouse on the outskirts of Tura, the political hub of the Garo Hills comprising western Meghalaya. He said he was framed by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma for being his strongest critic and political challenger but the “vindictive action” has made people see through the design of the National People’s Party (NPP) and made the BJP stronger. He told The Hindu why the tide is in favour of the BJP, particularly in the Garo Hills where the party is against the NPP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Out on bail, he is contesting the South Tura Assembly constituency against the Chief Minister. Excerpts.
Does the BJP fancy its chances in Meghalaya, where it has never won more than three seats?
We hope to get a double-digit number. We may even be the single largest party and this is because our party is much more organised than in 2018.
How crucial is the Garo Hills for the BJP with the NPP and the TMC focussed on bagging a majority of the 24 seats in the region?
Contrary to speculations, the contest across the Garo Hills will not be triangular. Our contest is against the NPP in some seats and the TMC in some. The TMC is not much of a factor. We have the upper hand in this region. We are also doing well in the Khasi-Jaintia region (the eastern half of Meghalaya).
What gives you this confidence?
Apart from a stronger base, the people have come to know only the BJP can give them their dues and not another party (NPP) that betrayed the trust of our leadership by misusing Central funds for various schemes. The concocted case against me has also made the people realise they need to eject the CM and the NPP as they can misuse the law against them too. Our party contesting all 60 seats is a sign of confidence.
Concocted?
The BJP made Conrad Sangma the CM with the objective that he would ensure the proper implementation of the schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But many villages in Meghalaya are without water, electricity, roads and other basic amenities. I became the strongest critic of the CM, his party and his coterie after becoming a member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) in 2021. I used the RTI to unearth several scams and found they were snatching from the poor to build their own empires. He (Mr. Sangma) retaliated by accusing me of running a brothel and slapping 28 cases against me. But my party stood by me as I was innocent. The people also found this out and are determined to vote him out of South Tura, which I represent in the GHADC (the council seat is of the same name as the Assembly constituency).
Does that mean you have been targeted for a political reason?
Absolutely. He wanted to finish me off politically as I am becoming his strongest critic and challenger in the Garo Hills. He planned to malign me so that my leaders disown me and the BJP disintegrates in the region. He possibly did not bank on my party standing by me. In the bargain, everyone came to know he betrayed the trust of the BJP, the Prime Minister and the people.
But the BJP has been part of the NPP-led government.
Our party was not kept in the loop while implementing projects. The NPP took away ₹100 crore given by the Centre for the GHADC to contest Assembly elections in Manipur. As a result, some 1,600 employees of the council are going without salary for three years. The NPP also diverted three years of money, at ₹6,000 per family, provided under the PM-Kisan scheme and repackaged it as the FOCUS (Farmers’ Collectivisation for Upscaling Production and Marketing Systems) and distributed them among people ahead of the elections as an allurement.
What about the allegations that the BJP is anti-Christian?
The Opposition hurls this allegation when it does not find anything else against us. I am a Christian, almost all BJP leaders in Meghalaya are Christians. We will be the first to protest if our faith and culture are targeted. But the campaign is based on incidents in Myanmar and in adjoining Assam while our rivals conveniently forget a church was demolished during an eviction drive by the Christian-majority Congress government in Tura years ago.
