Shillong MP and state Congress Party leader Vincent Pala is interested in only making the newspaper headlines and in gaining power in whatever way possible, Meghalaya Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ernest Mawrie has told Highland Post.
Last week, in a surprise move, the Congress helped topple the Executive Committee in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) by forming an alliance with the National People’s Party (NPP) in order to oust the United Democratic Party (UDP).
Bizarrely, the NPP and UDP continue to work together in the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance at the state government level, with the Congress in opposition.
Following the KHADC coup, Pala said that the Congress would be willing to work with the NPP in the MDA if the BJP is kicked out. The Congress has five MLAs in the current Assembly compared to the BJP’s two.
“The statement made by Pala is a foolish one since it has been a long time that he did not appear in the news. He wanted to get some space in the newspapers and that was the only reason he made such a statement,” Mawrie told HP. “The Congress won by a fluke in Karnataka and now thinks that they will win in the entire country, which will never happen.”
The Congress had previously attacked the NPP for supposedly being the B-team of the BJP, which led Mawrie to call out the apparent hypocrisy.
“The Congress … is nothing but a desperate and power hungry party and the public will judge them,” he added.
Maintaining that it is up to the Chief Minister on whether he wants the BJP in or out of the coalition government, Mawrie said that the Congress is a dying force and is trying to revive itself with childish comments.
“The Congress Party today is just like a child who receives sweets sometimes, like what happens in Karnataka, but the fact is that the BJP this time will cross 340,” he stated in reference to next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
On the health of the MDA, the saffron party’s state president said that the BJP is a “strong and steady partner” of the coalition and its presence within gives the government the “might to forge ahead with people-centric policies and the development agenda.”
