SHILLONG: UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh has said that deliberations for putting together a regional front of North East-based parties are progressing well.
Lyngdoh’s assertion comes close on the heels of Congress MP Vincent Pala making light of the idea.
“This is not just an idea of one individual, but it has been discussed in detail among leaders on two occasions in the aftermath of the controversy over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill,” Lyngdoh said.
Earlier, Pala, while mocking the idea, had stated that regional parties can never unite, but can only further divide.
Lyngdoh said that they have gone step by step in identifying friends who would like to be part of the front, adding that it will be a conglomerate of parties who will maintain equidistance from their national counterparts.
Stating that the impact of national parties on regional politics has always been negative, he added that the idea behind the front is to make the roots of regionalism stronger and hence necessary.
Pala had earlier described the move as a mere dream of Lyngdoh which will never come true.