SHILLONG, Aug 20: Facing a barrage of firing from the Opposition camp, the ruling MDA coalition on Friday, in a retaliatory move, targetted the opposition leadership and their attempt to form a new dispensation in a desperate bid to return to power while ignoring issues concerning the people.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the State Congress leadership is more focused on toppling the government than issues of the people and urged the Opposition camp and political leaders to rise above petty political games.
Stating that he is saddened by the extreme sense of desperation that prevails in the leadership of the State Congress, the CM said, “I can say one thing for sure that in my political career thus far I have never seen so much of desperation from an opposition party.”
“The desperation has gone to the point where personal attacks have been made and angry words have been used which is not expected from people of such stature,” he said.
Revealing that some Congress MLAs had called him and said that they were ashamed at the kind of language being used by the leadership, Sangma said, “Their behavior speaks a lot about how things are within the Congress.”
Referring to the Congress attempt to stitch up a new dispensation, the CM said, “They have been trying this for so long. So many times the coalition partners have been approached and every time the partners have repeatedly said that they will continue to support the MDA.”
Admitting that there are challenges a government faces, he said, “We are not saying that we have answers to everything. We don’t and we can’t. Situations are complicated and require everybody to work together. As CM, I would like to urge the opposition leaders and the society as a whole to rise above these political games.”
Reacting to the remark of Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on the situation in the state and the parallels drawn with the Taliban militants on the streets of Kabul, the CM said, “The derogatory remarks used by the AICC spokesperson is another reflection of their frustration.”
Pointing out that this could be the reason why Sushmita Dev left the party and their MLAs resigned from the Congress in Assam and joined the BJP, the CM said, “May be that is why they are frustrated and now they are just reacting and responding to it in such a derogatory manner. They should realise that by insulting our people and our state they will not achieve anything.”
