SHILLONG, Oct 11: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has trashed allegations of poaching and said Congress has not been able to keep its flock together.
“We are not poaching anyone. If people want to join another political party, they are free to do so in a democracy,” he told reporters on Monday.
Sangma said Congress is accusing the National People’s Party (NPP) of poaching as it has no answers to the problems within.
“It is important for Congress to look inwards and figure out its problems. If you are not able to address the concerns of the people, please don’t blame other political parties,” the NPP national president said.
He asserted that most leaders in the state see a future in the NPP. “They have realised that it is only the NPP that can carry forward their ambitions and goals as leaders. It is for this reason they have decided to join our NPP,” he added.
Speaking during the formal induction of former Congress leader John F. Kharshiing into the NPP, Sangma had earlier said more like-minded people would join the NPP given the state of the opposition party.
He urged all like-minded leaders from different political parties to weigh the need to work together.
“The NPP-led government has taken some bold steps that other governments were scared to take. But we are clear in our mind about what we have achieved,” he said.
He, however, said they will need the support of the people and leaders to take the various issues to a logical conclusion.
Earlier, Congress accused the NPP of poaching its leaders to contest the bypolls in Mawphlang and Mawryngkneng constituencies on October 30.
“A single party candidate applied for Mawphlang and Mawryngkneng. Neither former Congress MDC Lamphrang Blah nor party leader Norbert Marboh applied for the ticket. It is a clear case of poaching since both of them decided to contest the bypolls out of the blue,” MPCC working president Ampareen Lyngdoh, also the convener for Mawryngkneng, said.
She alleged that the cash-rich NPP is throwing money into the bypolls.
According to her, the NPP had persuaded Marboh to contest from Mawryngkneng as an independent just to divide the votes.
She said Blah, the four-time Congress MDC from Mawphlang did not express his willingness to contest the bye-election.
“He (Blah) never said that he wanted to contest. He just left the party in a big hurry,” Lyngdoh had said.
“I strongly suspect the former MDC got a deal from the NPP to contest the by-election,” she added.
