SHILLONG, Dec 5: Former Trinamool Congress MLA Himalaya M Shangpliang, who recently tendered his resignation from the Assembly and is all set to join the BJP, justified his move saying that it would have been difficult for him to face the upcoming elections had he continued with his former party.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on Monday, Shangpliang pointed out that there was nothing wrong with the TMC and everything was going well until the month of April when his supporters and leaders urged him not to continue with the Mamata Banerjee-led since people would not accept the party at the grassroots level.
Shangpliang along with 11 other Congress MLAs, led by Mukul Sangma and Charles Pyngrope, had merged with the TMC in November last year.
Claiming that the BJP would be a game changer in the 2023 Assembly polls, the former bureaucrat said his decision to join the saffron party was propelled by the BJP’s initiative which has brought about positive changes in the country, particularly the Northeast.
He pointed out that under BJP rule, Guwahati has become the fastest growing city in the country.
Asked how he plans to cleanse the tag of the BJP being a Hindu and anti-Christian party, Shangpliang said such perceptions were wrong.
BJP is a political party and not a religious party. The party has already established its roots in Christian dominated states like Mizoram and Nagaland, he said.
“I would like to ask if any church in Meghalaya has been closed down by the BJP and is there any part of the state where the BJP has stopped people from eating beef?” questioned Shangpliang, while terming such accusations as mere propaganda by the opposition parties.
