GUWAHATI: In six months, Meghalaya will go to polls. Needless to say, permutations and combinations are being worked out on the political front. Three independent MLAs are keen on joining the BJP, which they say, is receptive of all religions.
If the trio join the saffron party, it would help BJP refurbish its image, which was dented in the wake of Centre’s new cattle slaughter rules. BJP leaders Bernard Marak and Bachu Marak, besides hundreds of their supporters, had resigned, accusing the party of snatching beef from the tribals’ platter.
Meanwhile, the three independent MLAs met BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi last week. “Our joining the BJP depends on how it responds to the three demands that we submitted. We would join only if the ban on coal mining in Meghalaya, enforced by the National Green Tribunal, is lifted. We are tribals, as per tradition, the land should belong to us. Also, Christianity shouldn’t be touched,” independent MLA Robinus Syngkon, who is serving as a parliamentary secretary, said.
He claimed that a number of MLAs, including some from the ruling Congress, would also join the BJP if it fulfils the demands. “We had a very positive meeting with Shah,” Syngkon said. He said after returning from New Delhi, he had a meeting with his supporters and most of them backed his move, and claimed that the rights of tribals could be defended only by aligning with the BJP.
Another independent MLA Justine Dkhar, who had met Shah, said they had not yet finalised joining the BJP. “It depends on my supporters. I am planning to call a meeting. I will decide accordingly,” he said.
The BJP, which does not have a single MLA in Meghalaya, envisages a ‘Congress-mukt’ Northeast. After conquering Assam and Manipur and gaining Arunachal Pradesh through political maneuvering, the party has set its sights on Tripura and Meghalaya.