SHILLONG, Feb 16: Suspended Congress Legislature Party leader, Ampareen Lyngdoh on Wednesday dodged a question on whether she was testing waters amidst reports that she is keeping her options open.
“We are here to serve the people, not to respond to irrelevant questions,” she said.
Lyngdoh is believed to have had a few rounds of discussions with the leaders of the National People’s Party, the United Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party for a possible switchover at a convenient time.
Lyngdoh’s husband and MDC of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Fantin Joseph Lakadong had announced his decision to join the NPP.
Earlier in the day, Lyngdoh and four other suspended Congress MLAs met Deputy Chief Minister and senior NPP leader Prestone Tynsong. She said the meeting was for sorting out some vital projects in their constituencies.
Stating that they envisage themselves as full-fledged MDA partners, Lyngdoh once again downplayed the dinner invitation from All India Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Sangma.
She refused to comment either on the show-cause notice served by the AICC or whether the five suspended Congress MLAs will be a part of the MDA government.
U-turn on coal illegalities
Taking a U-turn on the issue of illegal coal mining and transportation, Lyngdoh said urban MLAs like her would not be familiar with the issue and that it would be better to let NPP handle it.
“We had a captain dealing with the issue but he went somewhere else. We leave it to his wisdom to take it up from wherever he is now,” she said, hinting at Sangma.
She said it was difficult for the urban MLAs to speak on the illegal coal trade as “our knowledge about the issue is very limited and we cannot pretend to be experts”.
Lyngdoh said the five Congress MLAs have left it to the NPP to handle the issue as they are part and parcel of the MDA government.
“Our reason for joining the MDA is very clear. We want the development of our constituencies and allegations can deviate us (from the objective),” she added.