SHILLONG, Sep 6: The bittersweet relationship between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National People’s Party seems to have turned sour with the former reportedly determined to leave the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance bag and baggage.
BJP’s Meghalaya in-charge M Chuba Ao on Tuesday asserted that the two sitting MLAs of the party – AL Hek and Cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai – have also come on board and are ready to pull out of the NPP-led MDA Government.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Ao said it was necessary for the party to take the consent of its two MLAs before pulling out of the government.
There will be a due process followed and the party has to build its strategy before making the final move, Ao said.
The BJP leader admitted that their exit from the MDA would have no impact on the government since the NPP and its other allies had the numbers to their advantage.
Making it clear that the BJP was ready to sit in the opposition, Ao said, “We have almost finalised the decision but we have to work out a strategy and action will be taken in the next two or three weeks.”
Reminded that the pull-out move would affect Shullai the most since he would lose his Cabinet rank, Ao said the two party MLAs were ready to sacrifice the posts they hold.
Meanwhile, a source close to the BJP also confirmed that the two sitting MLAs (Hek and Shullai) were also ready to pull out of the MDA. The source further confirmed that the BJP’s state executive committee has also endorsed the decision to withdraw from the MDA.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma rushed to New Delhi on Tuesday and held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. It was not known whether the BJP’s pull-out threat was discussed during their meeting.
It may be recalled that Ao had recently revealed that the party would withdraw its support to the MDA within a month. The announcement had surprised everyone since the BJP had been issuing the threat, time and again, but without any action. The move is considered surprising since the Assembly elections in the state are due in less than six months.
However, the NPP and even the Congress have termed the BJP’s threat as a farce and nothing but a publicity stunt.
On the BJP leader’s threat that it is gathering evidences of illegalities and corruption against the MDA to set the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after it, the NPP said the saffron party was known to go out against its political opponents by using the ED and the CBI as political tools.
