NPP to wait and watch

SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister and president of the ruling NPP, Conrad Sangma, on Monday chose the wait-and-watch line vis-à-vis the party’s association with the NDA after the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a regional party, exited the ruling coalition in Assam led by BJP over the Centre’s stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
The opposition Congress in the state also asked the MDA government to clarify on its alliance with the NDA government over the controversial bill.
Asked by reporters if pulling out of the NDA is an option now, Conrad said, “We will see when the situation comes”.
Conrad also said that there is no confusion about the stand of the Meghalaya government on the controversial stand as the state cabinet was the first to pass a resolution to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
When asked about the demands of the NGOs to drop BJP MLA AL Hek from the state cabinet, Conrad said that Hek in the cabinet meeting had supported the resolution of the to oppose the Bill
“He (Hek) may be a part of BJP, but has told us that protection of the indigenous people is his priority,” the Chief Minister said.
Asserting that there should be no ambiguity about the stand of the Meghalaya government on the issue, he added that it has made clear to the NDA that it is not supporting the controversial bill.
When asked what will be the action if the central government forcefully passes the bill, he said, “We will see when the time comes.”
Come clean: Congress to MDA
The Opposition Congress has asked the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) to come clean on its alliance with the NDA over the controversial bill.
Congress leader PT Sawkmie on Monday said that the MDA government was quick to oppose the bill but now the big question is whether they would continue their alliance with the NDA government led by the BJP since it is hell bent on passing the bill which would adversely affect the indigenous population of the state.
He also questioned if the two BJP MLAs would put pressure on the NDA government not to go ahead with the bill and if not then, will both of them resign from the party since there is huge opposition to the bill in the North East.