GUWAHATI: It is just a matter of time that all five Meghalaya Congress MLAs, who ruffled quite a few feathers by joining the state’s BJP-backed government, will be suspended by the party’s central leadership.
Meghalaya Congress president Vincent H Pala, who is also the Shillong MP, confirmed he had recommended their suspension to the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
He said all the MLAs would be issued show-cause notices. They will be asked to explain their decision behind joining the government and if they will pull out of it. The show-cause notices are likely to be issued by Monday.
A source close to some of the MLAs said they were unlikely to come out of the government. Speculations are rife in the state that they will defect to the National People’s Party (NPP), which heads the ruling coalition, and contest next year’s Assembly elections on its tickets.
All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) state leader and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma claimed the five Congress MLAs were engaged in backdoor negotiations with the NPP, indicating possible defection.
With less than a year left for the polls, the AITC has dramatically become a key player in the state. Twelve Congress MLAs had “merged” themselves with the AITC in November last year, making it the state’s principal opposition party and relegating the Congress to a smaller party. The AITC hardly had any base in the state until the switchover.
Congress Legislature Party leader Ampareen Lyngdoh had earlier stated: “We haven’t ditched the party. We decided to join the government as we wanted to protect one another (five MLAs).”
“We had suffered tremendously in developmental projects. We have been neglected as we are in the Opposition and we felt it would be better for us to partner with the government in the remaining 11 months (before elections), so our constituencies get the attention required,” Lyngdoh, who is a former minister, had stated.