Shillong/Tura, June 1: The Congress today lashed out against the BJP-led NDA government's "3D model" of divide, destroy and distract and claimed that Meghalaya would never vote against this kind of politics.

"In three years of the BJP government, there should have been a lot of focus but the government has come up with three Ds - divide, destroy and distract," AICC spokesperson and Congress MP from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, said at the Congress Bhawan here.

He said the model sought to divide people on the basis of food, religion and language. He alleged that the government had destroyed the rural economy by neglecting farmers, leading to increasing number of farmers committing suicide in the last three years. He said the government was trying to distract people from its failures like demonetisation, which had resulted in people suffering, by spending crores of rupees on social media and advertisements.

Reacting to BJP spokesperson Nalin S. Kohli's accusation yesterday that the Congress was playing "dirty-tricks" and adopting a "spit and run" strategy by spreading false and fabricated rumours on issues related to beef ban and cow slaughter, Gogoi said the allegations were a "lie" and the recent notification on sale of cattle was part of the BJP's cow politics.

He dared Kohli to a debate on what the BJP government has done for the Northeast. "This government has done nothing for the Northeast. The 90 per cent funding has been withdrawn and they have been busy cutting ribbons for projects initiated by the Congress-led government as if the projects were undertaken only three years back," he said.

Gogoi said the Centre must take responsibility for rise in cattle smuggling to Bangladesh as the BSF, which protects the border, reports to it.

He alleged that the BJP government's economic and foreign policies have failed and this would endanger the country as Nepal was becoming friendly with China, and Russia, seen as a friend of India, was holding joint military exercises with Pakistan.

"During the last three years, many of our soldiers lost their lives and many were beheaded. What has this government done?" he asked.

In Guwahati, AICC senior spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "messed up" the country's foreign policy with his "immature activities". Citing the incidents of Modi inviting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014 and then making a surprise visit to Pakistan on Christmas in 2015, Ahmed said Modi had ruined the Congress's efforts to "isolate" Pakistan on international fora.

Regarding China, Ahmed said, "When Congress was ruling, Modi said we were exchanging love letters. But now China is building economic corridor with Pakistan over Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and the Centre is mum. China is renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh but no action has been taken yet".

Nudged on Congress leaders joining the BJP, Gogoi wondered why the BJP was welcoming leaders it had described as "corrupt" when they were in the Congress.

He claimed the people of Meghalaya would vote against the "three Ds and Hindutva politics of the BJP" in the 2018 Assembly election and the Congress would return to power. Asked if chief minister Mukul Sangma would be projected for the top post in the polls, Gogoi said, "First and foremost, we need to form a Congress government in Meghalaya. For leadership, we leave it to the party president and vice-president."

Gogoi also batted for the Assam Accord. "Our party's stand is very clear that the Assam Accord should be respected. We remember the Prime Minister clearly said that after May 16, 2014, all Bangladeshis who are staying illegally in India would be deported. We want to ask the Prime Minister how many illegal Bangladeshis have you identified in the Northeast and how many have you deported? Instead, your policy seems to be just the opposite. This will have an impact on the local demography and culture. We want the Assam Accord to remain intact and the BJP to identify and deport all illegal migrants as promised."

Beef protest

In the Garo hills, the Congress staged a protest against the Centre's move to regulate the cattle market in the country and took out a rally against the "attempt to ban beef".

The "beef protest" was led by sports and youth affairs minister Zenith Sangma, parliamentary secretaries Noverfield Marak, Cherak Momin and Winnerson D. Sangma, among others.

Momin said they would hold beef protests across the state. Marak said a beef party would be held in Tura on Saturday in protest against the Centre's new cattle rule.was an attempt to target the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians. They feared it The Congress has launched 45-day protest on completion of three years of the BJP government at the Centre.