SHILLONG: The state chief of the National People’s Party (NPP),WR Kharlukhi, has welcomed the move of the United Democratic party (UDP) to bring together all North East-based parties on a single platform saying such a grouping will be a force to reckon with, and they need no longer remain a pawn in the hands of national parties.
The UDP recently said it was pursuing the idea of forming a front under the name and style of North East Secular Front since regionalism needs to remain relevant.
Kharlukhi said the NPP was yet to discuss the matter, but he believed that floating a regional front was really a good idea.
“If we can have 15-20 MPs from North East in Parliament in a solid front, it will be a force to reckon with in future,” Kharlukhi said.
Stating the regional parties have been a “pawn in the hands of national parties for long”, he said it is high time they unite and take power in their own hands.
“Only the people of North East would be able to help the people of North East,” he said while adding that the if the move fructifies, the front will be as powerful as other political parties in mainland India.
To a question whether the move could be a set back to NPP’s aspiration to be the leading force of the region, the NPP state president said, “The idea of NPP is to unite people of North East as one and go under one banner to Delhi, but we have to move as the situation demands and have to see the real ground politics.””The main idea is to unite the people of the North East. This is what we should do if we really want to be recognised by the powers that be in Delhi,” he said.
Kharlukhi, however, said that these were his personal views and not of the NPP.
