GUWAHATI: Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma on Sunday said that the Opposition in the hill state was a divided house, and hence, “does not enjoy the trust and confidence of the people”.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme here, Sangma, who is also the president of the National People’s Party (NPP) that heads the alliance in Meghalaya, further predicted a split in the Trinamool Congress (TMC), anticipating that “many MLAs will be joining NPP and other political parties” ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections in the state.
“The Congress, which was the major Opposition party in Meghalaya, has split into half …with half of the party MLAs joining the TMC. Very soon, TMC will also be breaking within and many TMC MLAs in the state will soon be joining NPP and other political parties,” the chief minister informed.
Terming the Opposition in Meghalaya as ‘divided’ in the present situation, the chief minister said people in the state have doubts in their minds in the absence of a united Opposition.
“If you look at the current political scenario in the Northeast, and in Meghalaya especially, “TMC has just come in, though there were some instances in the past that they had come in and that they were there…But they could not sustain or build the party, In this particular election as well, the party is not acceptable as they think they are,” Sangma said.
“Therefore, the Opposition is fragmented. Given the fact that TMC is new as a party in the Northeast and will take time to find acceptability here, it will be wrong for the party to conclude that it will form the government in the state,” he said.
Further, asserting that the TMC needs to accept the reality and see where it stands in the Northeast, and in Meghalaya, Sangma said at present, “TMC is building castles in the air, which shows that the party does not know the reality and is not being able to build the organisation the way they would have like to. Therefore, I don’t think that the statements being made by them have any strong hold,” Sangma said.
“However, as a political leader, as the NPP president and as the chief minister of Meghalaya, I have always maintained that I don’t take any opponent lightly, I have always believed that when we fight an election we should always give our best and never underestimate anyone,” he said.
In regard to the forthcoming Assembly elections, the Meghalaya chief minister threw light on the different poll equations in the Northeast, which has several relatively smaller states.
“The polls in the region are candidate-centric. Hence, the party has to organise and bring the individuals or candidates together. We also have elections where factors like localities, communities and different leaders play an important role and hence the mixing and matching of these factors are important,” Sangma said.
“Given the complexity of the politics in Meghalaya in mind, NPP is contesting the polls on its own and so is the BJP…But we have always maintained our commitment that we are in coalition with NDA at the Centre and other states as well. And given the political situation in the future, if the occasion arises, we will have a coalition,” he said.
On the Assam-Meghalaya boundary talks and the ongoing resolution process, Sangma urged the parties “not to politicise the issue”.
“It is important to resolve the border issues to pave the way for development in the border areas. The Assam government, Meghalaya government and the Centre are committed to resolve the issues. After extensive consultations, issues in the first six areas of differences have been resolved with a final survey remaining,” he said.
“However, the other six areas are bigger in area and we have to visit all the areas and consult the stakeholders before resolving them…there is no time-bound mechanism as these are sensitive issues. But we are hopeful that through a proper process, the issues in these areas are resolved,” he said.
The Meghalaya chief minister was here to take part in the panel discussion as a part of the Purvottar Swabhiman Utsav here, where he emphasised the need to incorporate in the education system more information relating to the Northeast, its freedom fighters, culture and traditions, in order to build bonds of national integration.
Stressing on the need for cross-cultural communication among children, Sangma said, “There is a need for a strong cultural exchange and knowing the cultures from different parts of the country from a young age is imperative. People from the Northeast should also know the cultures of the rest of India. It has to be done in a very powerful way such as through cultural exchange programmes, museums, etc.”
The chief minister also said that connectivity in terms of roads, airways, information technology, culture and economy are important as they can create and strengthen bonds between the people of Northeast and the rest of India.
“Political leadership can play an important role in connecting the Northeast with the rest of the country. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, these efforts are bearing fruit and with the right policies and approach the relationship can be further strengthened,” he said.
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