SHILLONG, April 16: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, United Democratic Party (UDP) president Metbah Lyngdoh, on Friday, said that the Opposition party is making ‘desperate and futile’ attempt to cause a rift between the NPP-led MDA coalition partners.
“It is a political gimmick and a futile attempt to bring a crack in between the coalition partners; a very desperate attempt as the Congress is desperate,” said the UDP president while taking strong exceptions to the statement of the Opposition Congress MP, Vincent Pala, targeting the UDP.
He asserted that coalition stands together and differences of opinions and views will be there but all those in the coalition are free to express and there is a platform to address it.
Reiterating that the intention of the Congress MP is to try and cause a rift between the coalition partners, the UDP president said, “That is the intention of the MP and not of A, B in the UDP. He can presume and think whatever he wants and nobody can stop that, but whatever issues we have raised we have always taken them up in the interest of the people”.
Reacting to the MP’s statement, Metbah said, “Assigning portfolios to any minister is the prerogative of the chief minister. We never asked that it should come to the UDP, it was the chief minister who decided to give it to the UDP”.
“I did not expect such a statement from the MP,” he added.
Pala had reportedly alleged that the UDP wanted the Home portfolio in the government and after availing it, messed the department up completely, while they now raise issues pertaining to the Power portfolio.
On the allegations of UDP mismanaging the Home portfolio, the UDP president said the home minister would give a statement on that as he sidelined the matter.
It may be recalled that Pala had alleged that payments made by the traders of illegal coal have doubled ever since UDP’s Lahkmen Rymbui took over as the Home Minister.
Moreover, pointing out that the UDP had criticised the National People’s Party (NPP) for the present crisis in the Power department and demanded Power Minister James Sangma’s ouster, the Congress MP had said, “When the NPP was in charge of Home, there was a hue and cry with the UDP demanding the portfolio. During that period, coal traders, especially from the Jaintia Hills, used to pay around Rs 50,000 per truck but today it has doubled.”
Pala had stated that if Power Minister James Sangma is removed and the portfolio is given to the UDP, he does not expect anything good to happen.