SHILLONG, March 25: United Democratic Party (UDP) general secretary, Jemino Mawthoh on Thursday said his party was firm on the demand for the removal of Power Minister James Sangma and the CMD of MeECL, Arunkumar Kembhavi.
He asserted none in the party differed on the issue except for “some miscommunication” with a few leaders.
“The rank and file in the UDP are on the same page regarding the power issue,” he said, insisting that the minor differences would be sorted out once a few “unreachable” leaders are contacted.
“The party took the call (on the ouster demand) due to the gravity of the issue as the president was away and could not be informed,” Mawthoh said.
“This was not my personal decision,” he added.
Admitting that a few leaders might have felt left out for not being consulted, he said: “Sometimes it is not possible for everyone to be present but all of us are on the same page because this is not just an issue of the UDP but of the entire state and its people.”
But Mawthoh did not feel demanding the Power Minister’s ouster would affect the MDA coalition. “There will always be differences in a family but it is important to hammer out some issues,” he said.
In sharp contrast to Mawthoh’s claims, party MLA and Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had recently said he had full faith in the Power Minister as he had explained everything in detail during the Budget session.
The UDP president had said a meeting of the party will be convened soon to discuss the issue.