Meghalaya Can Be Next After Jharkhand! ‘Don’t point fingers at us’ Meghalaya CM to BJP

By D N Singh

There is yet another slugfest in the hilly state Meghalaya, where the MDA government has the BJP as a constituent of the coalition,  the BJP has threatened to quit the government alleging that, there is deep corruption in the ruling dispensation Meghalaya Democratic Alliance.

To which the incumbent chief minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma, who also heads National People’s Party(NPP) has retaliated in clear terms and warned the BJP not to indulge in pointing accusing fingers at the MDA without any basis.

Sangma has taken the chance to ventilate his anger to the BJP national leadership and let him know where does the wrong lies.

The BJP national Vice President Chuba Ao has made such an announcement regarding walking away from the MDA if corruption charges are proved and then, he said, the ED and CBI will do the probe.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who is also the supremo of the National People’s Party , which heads the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, on Wednesday asked the BJP, which is a constituent of the ruling coalition in the state not to point fingers at the government.

“If the BJP is pointing fingers at us they should also remember that three fingers are pointing at them,” the Chief Minister said. “We are very clear on our stand that whatever we have done we have been doing as per procedures as per law and everything has been done in a proper, clean and transparent manner,” he added.

Sangma was reacting to BJP’s national Vice President Chuba Ao’s announcement that the saffron party will quit the government over allegations of corruption against the MDA government. In fact, Ao made the statement after BJP’s General Secretary(organization) B.L. Santosh held a meeting with the state party leaders on the party’s preparedness for the 2023 Assembly elections. Ao had also said that once it gets evidence on the corruption charges then the ED and CBI would come in to probe.

However, Sangma said that Ao’s statement is not of the BJP’s stand, but of Ao making his own personal opinion. “I am sure if there are concerns, the national leadership of the BJP will definitely communicate and discuss with us. But It looks like he (Ao) is talking from a very personal point of view like a personalattack or may be he has some personal agenda or some personal grudge. We respect his opinion l but it would be wrong for us to say it is BJP’s opinion,” he said.

Noting that the MDA government “believes in coalition dharma” and respects opinions and differences of coalition partners, Sangma, who is also the chairman of the MDA, said, “We have had lots of turbulence during four and a half years but we have stuck together and we have always tried to resolve the differences that we had.” “There may be concerns that the BJP has and we keep discussing with them and we keep trying to clear up the concerns, the issues and any kind of differences that are there and as a Chairman of the MDA that is my responsibility and I try to ensure that we try to work together as far as possible,” he further added.