SHILLONG, Nov 7: National People’s Party (NPP) state president and Rajya Sabha member, WR Kharlukhi on Sunday rubbished reports that some disgruntled MLAs of the party might defect to other parties.
“This is mere kite flying. All our MLAs are intact and working very hard. There is no reason for anyone to do so,” Kharlukhi said.
According to sources, Congress leader Mukul Sangma and some other MLAs of the Congress as well as the NPP are likely to wear Trinamool Congress (TMC) colours.
But Kharlukhi said: “I don’t see any MLA being unhappy. Even the public is happy and that’s why they voted for us in the by-elections. It is proven that they are okay with the government.”
He pointed out that the leader of Opposition had also denied reports that he is TMC-bound.
Claiming that there are no disgruntled MLAs in the NPP and the party stands united, moving ahead collectively, Kharlukhi said it is only a wishful thinking of some people and a dream which will only be shattered.
Asked about the possibility of the NPP merging with the Congress in the near future, he said, “How will we merge with the Congress? We are building our party and we expect others to merge with us.”
“I don’t know if it is possible to work together. But we are very happy with our coalition partners and we would like this to continue,” he said.
The NPP leader’s closeness to state Congress chief, Vincent H Pala has often been questioned and interpreted in many ways.
But Kharlukhi said, “I have said it time and again that political opponents are not enemies. We fight in the field, in media and counter them not because they are enemies but we have different political ideologies”.
“It is Caveman Mentality. Politicians in the 21st century should not be like that,” he said.
On the move to unite the regional forces, he said he will be very happy if that happens.
“The NPP has a national recognition but it is working on regional lines. If the whole of Northeast can have one political party, then we will be the happiest people on earth,” Kharlukhi said, adding, “Unless we have a strong presence in Delhi, nobody will listen to us”.
“If the regional forces unite, we may be recognized as a national party. But the way we work, we are no different from them (national parties)”, he said, adding, “Congress and BJP are national parties with a national outlook and we are a national party with a regional outlook.”