Shillong, Aug 11: The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has taken offence to the recent remarks of the Voice of the People Party (VPP) spokesperson, Batskhem Myrboh, regarding the defection of Ronnie V Lyngdoh to the governing National People’s Party (NPP).
According to Lang Kupar War, chairman of the social media department of the MPCC, Myrboh’s description of the Congress as “wolves in sheep’s clothing” may make for striking rhetoric, but it ignores an obvious reality – internal challenges and contested loyalties are part of every political party, including the VPP.
“The VPP itself has experienced its own share of turbulence, most notably the suspension of Adelbert Nongrum and his supporters within just a year of his election,” War said.
With Lyngdoh’s defection, the Congress has been wiped out of the Meghalaya Assembly after three others betrayed the party for the NPP last year. The VPP won four seats in the last Assembly election and three of them remain, with Nongrum, the North Shillong MLA, suspended by the VPP for alleged anti-party activities.
War added that if metaphors are to be applied, it must be acknowledged that the opposition bench is not home to only one kind of “wolf.”
According to the MPCC, Myrboh’s remark that the opposition is not limited to Assembly debates and that the VPP has been “raising awareness” outside the House and this is a valid approach, but it is not new.
War pointed out that the Congress has been doing precisely this for decades—and most recently and urgently through Rahul Gandhi’s “unflinching” national campaign against the BJP’s systematic attempt to manipulate voter rolls, compromise the Election Commission, and weaken every constitutional safeguard that protects India.
He said that this was not routine politics but it is a fight for the survival of India’s democratic soul.
“…a do-or-die battle to preserve the integrity of our elections, the independence of our institutions, and the pluralistic character of our nation. These brazen assaults should have stirred every political conscience in the country,” the chairman, Social Media Department added.
Hitting out at the VPP, the MPCC member said that from a party (VPP) that claims to stand for the people, citizens have heard precious little in protest against this direct and frontal attack on the very foundations of our democracy.
“Silence, in such moments, is not neutrality—it is abdication,” War said.
However, the MPPC agrees on one point with Myrboh that the departure of Lyngdoh removes certain internal frictions.
“His decision is his own, but the Congress remains confident in the enduring trust and affection of the people of Meghalaya. This moment offers us an opportunity to rebuild with fresh leadership, renewed commitment, and a stronger focus on the welfare of our citizens,” War said, adding a call for the VPP to work with the Congress since both profess to stand for the rights of the people.
“We invite the VPP to work alongside us in speaking out – consistently and unequivocally – against the BJP’s ongoing attacks on Christians, minorities and India’s pluralistic traditions. The people of Meghalaya deserve not just rhetoric or metaphor, but united, principled action to protect our democratic values,” he concluded.
