To shed its anti-Christian tag, the BJP has roped in former supercop and its MP from Bangalore (North) H T Sangliana to canvass in Meghalaya for the Assembly polls. Hailing from Mizoram, Sangliana has also earned laurels for being tough and honest during his tenure in Karnataka as a police officer. The saffron party hopes to exploit this reputation of its sole Christian MP in this predominantly Christian state.Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sangliana said the people of the Northeast must get their perception on the BJP correct as it was “not an enemy of Christians” but a party with a “human face”. He said the party wanted to provide the people of North-East states with better living conditions. “The BJP is not anti-Christian but with many matured leaders like former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani has a fatherly and secular attitude towards all communities,” he said.Sangliana, who made a record of sorts when he became the first person from the Northeast to contest parliamentary election in 2003 from Bangalore, defeating six-time MP C K Jaffer Sharif, assured the people of the region that the party would look after its welfare if elected. He said, “If the party does not respond to the need of the people, we are ready to be thrown out in the next elections.” Sangliana said it was the BJP-led NDA Government that had first began giving priority to the North-East region. Taking a potshot at the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government, Sangliana said the Congress was full of corruption and only wanted power without responsibility. He accused the Congress of putting personal and party interests before people’s problems.
