SHILLONG: BJP legislator Sanbor Shullai on Thursday announced that he and his colleague AL Hek, who is a Cabinet minister in the NPP-led MDA government, will quit BJP and remain independents if the North East is not exempted from the purview of the citizenship bill.
The two BJP MLAs are part of the MDA government.
Shullai was one of the speakers at the Dorbar Bah ka Bri u Hynniewtrep organised by the Confederation of Hynniewtrep Social Organisations (CoHSO) against the bill at Students’ Field, Jaiaw.
Though Shullai revealed his plan to quit BJP, Hek later said the issues related to resignation will have to be discussed.
Speaking to reporters, Hek said he fully agreed with what Shullai had said in the meeting regarding CAB but added that the matter related to quitting BJP “will have to be taken after due deliberation”.
“I do not want to take any emotional decision though I am fully with the people who are opposing CAB,” Hek said.
Earlier at the rally, Shullai said he would leave for Delhi on February 5 to meet the Prime Minister and give him a month’s deadline before quitting the party.
What irked Shullai was that though he had given a memorandum to the Prime Minister on January 11 in Delhi, there was no feedback.
According to him, the Centre did not pay any heed to the state’s opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment), Bill, 2016. Hence, Shullai decided to serve another reminder to the Centre.
“Me and my supporters are ready to serve an ultimatum of one month to the Centre and if the BJP-led NDA government does not exempt Meghalaya and the rest of the North East from the purview of CAB, we are ready to quit party,” he said.
He also appealed to Hek to resign from the BJP.
In response, Hek added that resignation is not a solution to the problem.
Hek said he would have to fight against the bill within the party to find out a solution even as he recalled that the party, the government and even NGOs in Meghalaya have vehemently opposed the Bill.
When asked if the CAB would affect the prospects of BJP in Meghalaya, he said that such issues do not translate into votes.
He also maintained that he is opposing the bill since it is based on religious line and instead, it should have been based on the Constitution.
In a related development, the vice-chairman of Meghalaya Commission on Resource Mobilisation, Pawan Sharma, quit the post following protests by pressure groups during the rally against CAB.
Earlier on Wednesday, another political appointee, Vijay Raj had quit the government post.
In his resignation letter addressed to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday, Sharma said it was unfortunate and regretful that some NGOs had opposed his appointment.
“However, I fail to understand the sudden connection of my recent appointment with the ongoing agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016,” Sharma said.
He added that he was also against the bill and will continue to oppose it.
“The agitation against my appointment is not related to the public meeting and it appears to be politically motivated. Nevertheless, for the sake of maintaining peace and harmony in the society, I tender my resignation,” said Sharma, who was appointed on January 17.
