SHILLONG, March 31: Congress leader Ronnie V Lyngdoh on Sunday said although there is no alliance among the opposition parties in Meghalaya, yet they stand united and collectively take up issues concerning the state.
He made the statement while replying to a query if an Opposition alliance in the state could be a reality. Congress, Voice of the People Party and Trinamool Congress are the state’s three opposition parties.
“In the last (Assembly) session, you must have seen that although we did not have a formal alliance, we took up issues collectively,” Lyngdoh, the Leader of the Opposition, said.
He said when Dr Celestine Lyngdoh had raised the issue that the rules of conduct and business in the House were not being followed properly, all three opposition parties had stood by him and also staged a walkout.
The VPP has already made its stand clear that it is not going to be a part of any opposition alliance. It, however, said it is ready to coordinate with others on issues concerning the state and the people.
“We don’t want to be a part of any alliance of the Opposition because once you are in an alliance, you have to respect the decision of alliance partners…There may be a situation where we might clash on certain issues,” VPP chief Ardent M Basaiawmoit had stated.
Meanwhile, on the charge of National People’s Party that the opposition parties have done too little too less to raise the concern of the people, he said, “We had raised the issues of restructuring fees in colleges after citing the problems being faced by students and also inadequate number of teachers in educational institutions. Do they want us to do dharna in the House?”
“We do not scream and the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is known for its decorum. We have raised pertinent issues as responsible elders in a responsible tone and voice. But if they want, we can shout too,” he added.
