SHILLONG, Oct 19: Senior BJP leader and Adviser to the Chief Minister, Alexander L. Hek on Tuesday asked the coalition partners of the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) to either fight for course correction or quit the coalition.
“As a veteran politician, I am asking them to either fight or leave,” Hek said when asked if the coalition partners can do more in terms of questioning the government on the various allegations of irregularities.
Lamenting that the coalition partners do not question the government, Hek said, “I remember when they called the MDA coordination meeting to remove the Power minister, I was also part of the meeting and had witnessed that the coalition partners were not happy with the functioning of the MDA government particularly the Power minister at that time.”
Allies hit back
However, Hek’s criticism of the MDA allies has not gone down well with the coalition partners.
Some alliance leaders said Hek’s blame game betrayed his immaturity while others felt he should leave it to the people to judge during the 2023 Assembly elections.
Referring to Hek’s advice that the allies should either question the government on critical issues or leave the coalition, senior United Democratic Party leader Bindo M. Lanong said, “We have never been silent on the pressing issues.”
On Harijan Colony, he said it has been a long-pending issue and the UDP had written to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma advising the shifting of the Shillong Municipal Board employees to a location better than the commercial area and not just dumped anywhere.
Lanong said his party had also written to the government seeking the suspension of the police officers responsible for the encounter death of former HNLC general secretary Cheristerfield Thangkhiew.
“We have taken up the issues of price rise, petrol and MeECL and had even threatened to pull out. What more?” he asked, adding many issues not made public have been taken up in the coordination committee.
“We took up many issues when he (Hek) was in the government,” Lanong reminded.
People’s Democratic Front president and Agriculture Minister, Banteidor Lyngdoh said, “We have met the CM or Deputy CM and voiced our concern on any problem or anything good for the people and the state.”
He asserted that the government has been doing its best for the people despite almost two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stating that no government wants anything bad for its people, Lyngdoh said, “We are trying to solve so many problems that have been pending for so many years.”
“This government had the courage to take up pending sensitive issues such as interstate border dispute and Harijan Colony,” he added.
Accepting that governance cannot be perfect and some mistakes will always be there, the PDF chief said the shortcomings have to be overcome. “Blaming each other and pointing fingers at each other is not becoming of a mature elected representative,” he added.
He reminded the BJP leader of the MDA coordination committee that discusses major issues periodically.
Hill State People’s Democratic Party leader and PHE Minister, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar chose not to comment much on a “personal statement”. But he insisted the HSPDP has been vocal on several issues of public interest.
NPP National Youth President, Nicky Nongkhlaw said Hek was entitled to his personal opinion. “We are all aligned and working good. Let the people give their mandate in 2023” he added.