The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has launched a direct challenge against the ruling government in Meghalaya, declaring that it will function as the “main opposition” in the state despite having no current legislative presence in the Assembly. Speaking at the state executive committee meeting of the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress, IYC Secretary and Meghalaya in-charge Samrat Keshari Jena stated that the youth wing would aggressively take up public issues, bypassing the official opposition bloc currently comprising the Voice of the People Party (VPP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The political offensive follows the defection of four Congress legislators to the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), which left the parent party with zero seats in the Assembly. To counter this, the IYC has reviewed all its district units and rolled out a rigorous three-month strategic plan aimed at streamlining its operations, addressing the state’s escalating unemployment crisis, and tackling rampant drug abuse among local youth.
In tandem with local issues, the IYC leadership strongly condemned both the central and state governments for their perceived apathy regarding the nationwide National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate chaos. Jena highlighted that a massive paper leak led to the scrapping of the initial May 3 examination, forcing over 2,000 affected students from Meghalaya to undergo financial stress and repeat the grueling preparation process. The IYC claimed that six students nationwide have tragically committed suicide due to the exam distress, criticizing high-ranking officials for failing to console the grieving families. Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress President Timjim K. Momin further alleged that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has remained silent on the students’ plight because his administration is entirely beholden to the central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).