Meghalaya Elections 2023: District Electoral Officer Swapnil Tembe told News18 that Alotgre Cricket Stadium is being considered as alternate venue for PM Modi’s rally after permission was denied for event at Tura’s PA Sangma Sports Complex
Denial of permission for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally at the PA Sangma Sports Complex in Tura has become the latest flashpoint in electoral battle for Meghalaya.
Blaming the National People’s Party for disrupting rally plans, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the NPP is scared of PM Modi’s and Amit Shah’s popularity, and were taken aback after seeing huge turnout at Union home minister’s poll events.
NPP supremo and Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma, on the other hand, asserted that neither he nor his party had any role in denying permission for the prime minister’s rally.
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THE STADIUM TUSSLE
The NPP and BJP have been engaged in a public war of words ever since the two parties decided to go solo and fight for the 60-member Assembly on their own. From 2018 till January 2023, the BJP was a junior partner in the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.
Named after the former CM and the father of Conrad Sangma, the much-awaited P A Sangma stadium was built at a cost of Rs 127 crore and inaugurated by the chief minister on December 16, 2022. The football ground is the country’s largest pre-engineered composite stadium and the first natural ground of international standards in the state.
Earnest Mawrie, the state unit president of the BJP, told a national daily that the stadium was funded by the BJP-led central government. “Imagine denying permission to the Prime Minister of the country. Condemnable. It is a big insult,” Mawrie was quoted.
The Sports department has informed the West Garo Hills district authorities that permission cannot be given for the PM’s rally there as construction debris may pose safety concerns.
When News18 reached out to District Electoral Officer Swapnil Tembe, he said, “The stadium is not under the control of the district administration. It is still under construction, and therefore the application was forwarded to the sports department in Shillong by the returning officer concerned. They have communicated that it will not be fit to host such a big gathering as construction is going on. The construction material are on the still and may pose safety concerns. Hence, alternate venue of Alotgre Cricket Stadium is being considered.”
A report in Indian Express stated that the stadium was at the centre of controversy in January too. On a state visit, MoS (Minority Affairs) John Barla, had accused the NPP government of “not crediting” the Centre for the funding.
Mawrie said it was sad that “in no part of the compound or premise was it mentioned that the project was funded by the Centre under PM Modi. It’s only Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s name, his sister Agatha’s name and brother James name everywhere.” Agatha is currently a Lok Sabha MP from Tura, while James is seeking re-election from the Dadenggre constituency.
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BJP’S VERSION
“There is a wave for PM Modi in Meghalaya. Huge crowd turned up for Amit Shah in Tura. There is a panic among rivals that if PM comes to Tura what impact will it have. This stadium was inaugurated on December 16 and now suddenly it has been declared unfit? it’s hard to comprehend. Nobody can stop people from meeting the PM,” Rituraj Sinha, national secretary and BJP co-incharge of Meghalaya, said.
Speaking to a Meghalaya-based publication, Sinha claimed that the turnout at rallies of CM and ex-CM was between 1,500 to 2,000, while 10,000 to 15,000 people came to BJP rallies to listen to Amit Shah.
He added that all the huge crowds were seen in Rangsakona, North Tura and chief minister Conrad Sangma’s home turf South Tura or in remote areas like Dalu and Baghmara.
Sinha further said that the BJP’s opponents were so surprised at the turn-outs in these rallies that when the party applied for permission for the prime minister’s rally in PA Sangma Stadium in Tura, it was denied.
CM SANGMA’S VERSION
In a statement issued in Shillong, the chief minister said the accusation made by the BJP was false as permissions for rallies are given by the Election Commission and the district administration is now a part of it.
“All permissions come from the side of the Election Commission of India. So, there is no say from NPP or my side. Dragging our name into it is completely wrong. I was even denied permission for many of my rallies,” Sangma said.
He said such things happen during elections but the BJP has made this into a big issue. “The stadium has two parts. The first part consists of the football stadium, which was inaugurated. The other part, which has an indoor stadium and a swimming pool, is not ready and we have made it clear,” he said.
Sangma also said the possibility of denying permission may be due to the huge crowd the PM would draw.
“It is a fact that when PM Modi holds a programme, the crowd will be huge. So, I feel that the district administration may have felt that since it is a natural turf, and if many people come, it will damage the natural turf and also there is no parking facility there,” he said.
