TUR slams NPP over appointment of Chulet as working president

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJanuary 21, 2022

The Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has slammed the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) for appointing Nidamon Chulet as working president of the party in Jaintia Hills and rape accused legislator Thomas Sangma as national general secretary.

Chulet was convicted by a lower court, which sentenced him to life imprisonment in connection with a murder case 14 years back.

In a statement, TUR leader Angela Rangad said Chulet has been implicated in a plethora of crimes, including the attack on noted activist Agnes Kharshiing, enquiries into which the state government has routinely sought to suppress.

“It is shameful that just a few days ago the NPP justified Nidamon Chulet being the Working President of the NPP in the Jaintia Hills, and appointing rape accused Thomas Sangma as its national general secretary,” she said.

Also Read: NPP working president sentenced to life imprisonment

“We insist that members of the NPP no longer intimidate brave voices such as Amita Sangma, who has been seeking justice for herself and  Kong Agnes for the last four years.

She has repeatedly said that she was threatened by powerful figures in the establishment in this quest, and that this conspiracy of silence included even the Chief Minister and NPP President, Conrad Sangma,” she added.

Rangad said TUR is relieved that Chulet has been convicted for one of the many crimes he has committed over the last fifteen years.

“We hope that the ruling coalition in the state will take this opportunity to remove him from the various positions of authority they have appointed him to in recent years and stop accepting donations from him and other career criminals,” she said.

Stating that it is a hopeful sign for Meghalaya that its criminal courts occasionally deliver justice to the victims of violence, Rangad said, “But justice, unlike revenge, should never be served cold: we urge everyone in the legal and political establishment in the state to use this opportunity to fix a system so broken it can only convict someone as notorious as Nidamon Chullet more than a decade after the case against him was first filed. He has used that time to terrorise the people of the Jaintia Hills.”

She further asserted, “We can only hope that Thomas Sangma will not be allowed to follow in these footsteps and is forced to face the political consequences of his actions before he commits further crimes against our people.”