SHILLONG, May 1: All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) state president, Charles Pyngrope on Sunday described State Congress chief, Vincent H Pala as a “confused man” since he was simultaneously speaking about ghar wapsi and endorsing the three-year suspension of five Congress MLAs who had extended support to the NPP-led MDA government which has the BJP as one of its constituents.
“The MPCC chief had claimed that the five Congress MLAs had expressed their desire to return to the party. If this is true then why suspend these MLAs in the first place. I think he (Pala) is confused,” Pyngrope said, adding that the decision to suspend them clearly indicates that Congress does not want them to contest the 2023 polls from the party.
“Though the suspension will expire in 2025, the five MLAs can contest the assembly polls from the Congress only in 2028,” the AITC state president pointed out.
Reacting to Pala’s claim that some AITC MLAs have sent feelers to return to the Congress, Pyngrope challenged the MPCC chief to reveal the names of those MLAs, adding that it was easy for anyone to make tall claims.
On the Congress chief’s claim that the party was against any pre-poll alliance, the AITC leader said the no one would prevent the Congress from going along in 2023. “I don’t think any political party is open to the idea of a pre-poll alliance. All of them will contest on their own,” Pyngrope said.
Reacting to the call of AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi and AITC supremo Mamata Banerjee for unity of the opposition to root out the BJP, Pyngrope said they will abide by whatever orders come from Delhi and Kolkata.
“I don’t think even Pala can reject any such directive from the AICC,” he said.
