Lok Sabha MP Saleng Sangma has said that the three MLAs who quit the Congress Party to join the National People’s Party (NPP) are fooled in the name of development and destined to lose the next Assembly elections
“The three legislators do not even have any weight. Hence we are not bothered and we are not even at a loss after their desertion,” Sangma said today.
Three Congress MLAs, Celestine Lyngdoh, Charles Marngar, and Gabriel Wahlang, had joined the NPP, reducing the party to only one in the House of 60.
Sangma said just before the Lok Sabha elections, the NPP had enticed the people by inaugurating a number of blocks and projects, which are yet to see the light of day. “How can you expect this government to give something to these MLAs and maybe the NPP will fool them by just inaugurating those blocks,” he said, adding that the MDA government is a “virtual government.”
The Tura MP said the Congress is not weakened by the desertion, at least not in Meghalaya. He said the Congress will now include new faces to its fold.
Sangma also launched a scathing attack on Purno Sangma’s family for bringing no development to Gambegre even when two members from the Sangma family were ministers. He said that before him, a member of the Purno Sangma family – Admiral K Sangma – represented the area and even there was a time when Late Purno Sangma was a Union Cabinet Minister.
Stating that he has done more for the constituency in the last 15 years than what the Purno Sangma family did, Saleng said there were so many areas in his constituency which did not even have a black-topped road.
He said that there were some areas where he served for 10 years (due to delimitation of constituencies) and in some he was able to serve for 15 years even as he added that there were no schools in his constituency but now there are residential schools and even the Pine Mount International School is there.
“We were even getting a rehabilitation centre but James Sangma forcibly took it away to his constituency,” he said while adding that his constituency now has an agricultural market, a CHC, a block, zip-line facilities and even a gym.
Asking NPP to look at the history of the constituency before blaming him for the lack of development, he said that when he took over as the MLA, there were hardly any graduates in his constituency but today, there are thousands of graduates there.
Commenting on the developmental projects being sanctioned in Gambegre by the government ahead of elections, he said that he feels pity for the NPP MLAs since even they are not receiving many schemes and projects from the government like Gambegre.
