PPA to go alone in next general and Arunachal Assembly polls

ITANAGAR: Alleging both BJP and Congress of being mired in corruption, nepotism, mis-governance and pseudo-secular credentials, the PPA has decided to oppose "the anti-tribal, anti-secular and anti-people policies" of both parties in the 2014 general and Assembly elections.

People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) president Nikh Kamin and chief ministerial candidate Laeta Umbrey in a statement today said there was hardly any difference in character between the two parties.

"If the BJP-led NDA government enacted the National Hydro Power Policy in 2001-02 making Arunachal a power house for the nation without thinking about the already laid down Constitutional provision of protective development and Inner Line Regulation of 1873, the Congress regime has inked more then 200 MoAs on those policies without the knowledge of land owners," the party alleged.

Kamin said, while the Congress MLAs collectively passed the Mon and Patkai Autonomy council bills in 2004, the then BJP MP Kiren Rijiju and Tapir Gao had failed to get the same passed in Parliament.

"Now that the elections are round the corner, both parties are again raising the issue and exploiting public sentiments for their electoral benefits," it added.

Umbrey claimed "The Chakma-Hajong issues are creation of both the parties" and said the Congress and the BJP are "experts in designing and manufacturing emotive issues for electoral gains".

The PPA would not have any connections with both national parties and would go to the elections alone, and on the basis of vision documents and people-related election manifesto of the party.