SHILLONG, Jan 18: The ruling MDA partners may not have formally fallen apart in the free-for-all electoral battle, but the fissure within is getting widened by the day.
The root cause is NPP’s clever use of government schemes to enhance its own prospects much to the discomfiture and chagrin of other coalition partners like UDP, PDF, BJP and NCP.
UDP is bitter about NPP’s blatant misuse of government schemes in constituencies where there are already UDP candidates and termed the act of its coalition partner as “manipulative and disrespectful”.
At the fag-end of the term NPP has usurped schemes to undercut the UDP candidates. Mouthing the sour feeling within, UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh bitterly complained: “What is this? They should be respecting enough (of coalition partners)”.
He stopped short of calling NPP’s act as betrayal of trust.
Asserting that the UDP has respected the mandate of the people and remained in the government as coalition partners to provide the much needed stability in order to enhance state’s development pace, he pointed out, “We have respected that but they have not respected our friendship and our being together in the coalition and now they are at the fag-end as they know it is the end of term they are very vindictive, manipulative trying to pump schemes and by sidelining even the MLAs in the different constituencies. This is something which is not expected of NPP.”
Responding to accusations that the UDP is putting all the blame on the NPP despite being a part of the government, he said, “We are living in a coalition era and we cannot help it even at the state or national level you look at what is happening this is the trend as far as coalition politics is concerned and UDP has played its role in the last five years and has been able to provide the much needed stability in the government.”
“We wanted the government to last and despite swallowing the bitter pill many a time we said we need to be together…let those who wanted to take advantage of the situation especially the NPP because of the numbers they have at times…when you can make out they take decisions on their own in spite of being the coalition partners,” he said.
Stating that as coalition partners there should be mutual respect and understanding, he said, “This common minimum programme which we were supposed to have as a coalition government never took off. He squarely blamed it on NPP for being manipulative and taking advantage of the situation.”
Reacting to the UDP bashing in social media, he said, “I think in spite of the ridiculing of the UDP in the social media there are many silent viewers. Just look at those who are commenting and trying to ridicule the UDP when the party is upbeat now. Those trying to ridicule and belittle us are opponents from different political parties.”
“May be they have people for such work and from the UDP side we hardly make such comments.”
“We rise by blame and not praises”, he quipped with a touch of bravado.