The two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly – Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek and South Shillong MLA Sanbor Shullai – have both lost confidence in the state party President, Ernest Mawrie, and are keen for the latter to be replaced, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma claimed today.
The CM, who is also the national President of the National People’s Party, said that more than half of the BJP Meghalaya functionaries are in favour of ousting Mawrie.
Mawrie has been on the frontlines of the BJP’s criticism about its allies in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, though the two elected representatives have been much more circumspect.
“I have spoken to national leaders also and they are also upset with the way the President of the [Meghalaya] BJP has been handling the situation,” Sangma added.
Last year Mawrie had demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into “corrupt practices” in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, both of which were headed by the NPP.
He alleged that funds provided to the two councils under the Special Assistance Grant for transforming underdeveloped areas had been misused. The BJP has also publicly criticized the government on matters ranging from illegal coal mining to the central bonded warehouse proposal.
