SHILLONG, MAR 5: Outgoing chief minister Mukul Sangma today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of piggy riding on the regional parties to be in government despite of being outrightly rejected by the people of Meghalaya.
“It is not the regional parties that are coming together but it is the BJP that is bringing them together to piggy ride on them and fire from their shoulders,” Sangma told journalists here on Monday.
He said that the courtesy is to the BJP that the National People’s Party (NPP) is being able to form the government with the support of 34 MLAs which include 12 MLAs of the regional parties. The others supporting the NPP are two BJP MLAs and one Independent.
“You look at who is doing the press briefing, you look at who is deciding how many ministers should be there, you look at who decided there will be deputy CM or not,” he said while referring to the active press statements made by BJP top leaders including Himanta Biswa.
“Inspite of the fact that the electorate have rejected them (BJP), they have managed to be there where they want to be,” he added.
Whether the 2009 situation will repeat again in the state where a non-Congress government lasted only a year, the outgoing chief minister, who completed his full term today, said, “That comment should come from them not from me because the whole responsibility of keeping their flocks together and ensuring stability is vested with them.”
Asked that Congress was blamed that it was rejected by the people of the state, Sangma said nobody is having the mandate here as the fractured mandate is being distributed among all the political parties who are in the fray.
In a setback to the Congress, its former alliance partner the United Democratic Party (UDP) has outrightly rejected its offer to form the government together.
Divulging the outcome of his meeting with the UDP chief Donkupar Roy yesterday, Sangma said, “I was told that we were late in discussing. But I reminded him when I had approach him he said that it was not appropriate now and we will discuss after the election results.”
He said that the offer made to the UDP was like the gentlemen agreement between Late Captain Williamson Sangma and Late BB Lyngdoh for two and a half, and the other was a complete coaltion led by UDP and Congress will support to ensure stability.
Reacting to a querry, Sangma said when we made the government response to the situation and ensure they are always on their toes things happen that part you will see as we continue to serve the people.
“It is a question of serving the people and serving the state from different platform and position referred to as the opposition,” he said.
Asked whether the Congress can still turn the tables around, the outgoing CM, however said, “In a football match, certain players can always create a turn around. So, Congress has that kind of wherewithal to create a turn around in any given situation whenever needed.”
By Our Reporter
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