The alleged rampant corruption in the MDA government headed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has started to rock the boat.
The BJP which is one of the alliance partners in the government has indicated its readiness to pull out of the government led by NPP. The party may take its final decision in the coming days.
A meeting of the State executive committee of BJP held here today discussed the possibility of exiting from the MDA with many members expressing their unhappiness with the various scams happening in the State.
The meeting chaired by State party president Earnest Mawrie was also attended by central BJP leader Ajay Jamwal, cabinet minister Sanbor Shullai and other senior leaders.
Many members at the meeting expressed concern over corruption in various government departments. They also said that illegal coal mining, MeECL scams besides sub-standard construction of government projects and manipulation by people in power have brought a bad name to the MDA government.
According to them, BJP has “zero tolerance” to corruption and the present public perception against the MDA government may affect the prospects of BJP in the 2023 Assembly elections.
A senior BJP leader informed this reporter today that the core committee of the party along with the two party MLAs – A L Hek and Sanbor Shullai will meet tomorrow for a detailed discussion on the next step by the party.
“Since majority of the members of our party wanted the BJP to pull out of the present ruling dispensation, our core committee will meet tomorrow to decide. We will also send our report to national BJP president J P Nadda. It is up to the central leadership to take a final call,” the BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said that it was for the BJP leadership in Delhi to decide if the party wanted to quit the MDA government.
“Let the high command of the BJP send a message that they don’t want to support the government,” he said.
Sangma also said that some BJP leaders “who are not even part of the governance process” are making allegations against the government.
“I don’t think I need to react to comments made by these individuals,” he added.
It may be mentioned that recently, State BJP vice president Bernard Marak had demanded the resignation of Sangma from the post of chief minister for his alleged failure to stop corruption.
“‘Since Sangma has been unsuccessful in dealing with corruption, he should resign as chief minister of the State,” Marak had said.
The State BJP vice president also stated that during this term of the NPP-led government, the State has witnessed the “worst political and social scenario which has left every citizen disappointed one way or the other”.
According to him, CBI investigation is needed to inquire into the various irregularities including coal and power scams.
