SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and his senior colleague and State Congress chief D.D Lapang reacted to the Nongpoh desertions, albeit differently, on Wednesday.
While Sangma lashed out at C.B Syiem, former president of the Nongpoh Block Congress Committee, Lapang wished him luck.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, the chief minister said Syiem should have been expelled earlier for acting against the party on several occasions.
Syiem and 19 others quit the Congress on Tuesday. But they are yet to take a decision on which party to join.
Sangma said he got a wind of the things happening in the Nongpoh unit.
“We have identified this kind of people and maybe he was nurturing himself to be a candidate. He got impatient,” Sangma said and added that it was Lapang who groomed Syiem.
Refuting the allegations of diverting development scheme from Ri Bhoi, the chief minister said the government has gone beyond what was promised.
He further said shifting of loyalty is not a new thing in Meghalaya and the State. But “the self-styled leaders by taking shortcuts have burnt their own fingers”.
Lapang, on the other hand, said the strength of the Nongpoh block unit has remained intact despite the desertions.
The senior leader said Syiem was associated with him since 1972 and that he was actively involved in the party over the years.
“I wish him the best for his future initiatives,” the MPCC chief said.
Lapang announced that Meralborn Syiem will be the ad hoc party president of the Block.
Both Lapang and Meralborn downplayed the issue of denial of many schemes to Nongpoh by saying non-availability of land was one of the factors.
Earlier, Syiem had alleged that the Sericulture Training Institute at Pahamsyiem at a cost of Rs 22 crore was diverted to Ampati in 2016 as also several other schemes.
