SHILLONG: The NPP said on Tuesday the BJP, its coalition partner in the state, should be “thankful” to it for including the saffron party in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA).
The NPP’s state president, WR Kharlukhi, said the party was “merciful” in making the BJP a partner in the state coalition.
Kharlukhi’s remark came a day after BJP candidate for Shillong seat Sanbor Shullai said parties which are critical of BJP depend on the saffron party for funds and in need, “they are Bhai, Bhai”.
“Whatever funds are due for the state will be released by the Centre. The people of the state are contributing by way of indirect and direct taxes,” the NPP leader added.
The UDP, another ally in the MDA, also reacted sharply to Shullai’s comment.
UDP working president Bindo M Lanong said Shullai, who was talking about leaving the BJP a few days back, was making a U-turn and defending the party after his Lok Sabha poll candidature. “It is nece-ssary for the state govern-ment to go to the central government, be it a BJP, Communist or a Congress government, for financial assistance,” he added.
During protests against the Citizenship (Amend-ment) Bill, Shullai had announced at a public meeting at Motphran that he would quit the party if the contentious bill was not rolled back.
On the NPP-BJP link as claimed by Congress’s Mukul Sangma, Kharlukhi countered saying the Congress too had allied with the BJP. “The Congress seems to have forgotten about its alliance with the BJP during the formation of the executive committee in the JHADC in 2018,” he said.
The EC that was formed was a combination of the Congress, UDP, BJP and NPP. But surprisingly, the Congress is mum on its connection with the BJP,” he said and added that Congress worked with the BJP when it suited their interest but is criticising it now.
When asked if the NPP’s alliance with the BJP is hurting the image of the party, Kharlukhi said party president Conrad K Sangma “is very clear about its association with the BJP”.
“The NPP is for the interest of the indigenous people. We are going to fight against any party, be it the Congress or BJP, if there is threat to the indigenous people. Moreover, unlike Congress, we are not hiding relations with the BJP,” he added.
The senior NPP leader borrowed words from Lord Alfred Tennyson to describe the Congress’s situation in Tura.
“Cannon to right of them/Cannon to left of them/Cannon in front of them/Volleyed and thundered;/Stormed at with shot and shell,/ Boldly they rode and well,/Into the jaws of Death,/Into the mouth of hell/Rode the six hundred,” he recited from Tennyson’s The Charge of The Light Brigade to portray the Congress amid political assault in Tura.
Kharlukhi was confident that the NPP and the MDA coalition would defeat both the Congress and the BJP in Shillong and Tura.
BJP not a threat for Cong
The opposition Congress has said the BJP’s entry into the poll battleground in Shillong will not affect its prospects.
Speaking to the media after a meeting on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson HM Shangpliang said it does not matter whether BJP contests the election or not as “the Congress’s vote bank will always remain intact”.
The BJP’s move to field Sanbor Shullai from Shillong is seen as a setback for Congress candidate Vincent Pala as it may divide non-tribal votes which constitute a sizeable chunk of voting percentage for the Congress.
Rajya Sabha MP Wansuk Syiem and Pala held a detailed discussion on Tuesday on the party’s preparations for the April 11 contest.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s announcement of the minimum income scheme, Shangpliang said with the help of this, the Congress would eradicate poverty.