SHILLONG: With veteran Congress leader DD Lapang leaving the party, BJP national spokesperson and in-charge Meghalaya Nalin Kohli said the party “welcomes anyone who would work for the nation”.
“The BJP’s principle has been sabka saath sabka vikaas so we welcome anyone who wants to join the national mainstream with regard to working for the nation etc,” Kohli said when asked whether BJP would welcome Lapang.
“As an in-charge I can say that I have not been in touch with Lapang and he was not in touch with me. I cannot comment, I don’t know on whether he has been in touch with other senior leaders,” he added.
Nalin termed Lapang’s quitting as a blow to the Congress because “given his stature, it would be a loss to the Congress party in Meghalaya”.
“For a gentleman of his stature, we always wish him well.”
He added that Lapang is a respected politician and fatherly figure and one of the most important Congress leaders in the state on “whose shoulders, among others, the party came to be where it is now”.
“I’ve seen his resignation letter in the media, it is written very elegantly reflecting his point of view. It would be something that the Congress would need to explain with regard to why he has left the party or he himself would be able to say so,” Kohli said.