Shillong, Nov 28: The three sitting MLAs – two from the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) and one from the Opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) – who resigned as MLAs on Monday, will join the BJP in New Delhi before December 7 in the presence of national leaders like Amit Shah and JP Nadda.
Earlier in the day, the two NPP legislators – Benedic Marak (Raksamgre) and Ferlin Sangma (Selsella) and the AITC legislator, Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang (Mawsynram) met Assembly Speaker, Metbah Lyngdoh and handed over their respective resignation letters to him at the Assembly Secretariat, Khyndai Lad here on Monday.
Later, Benedic said they will join the BJP in New Delhi in the presence of national leaders before December 7.
Speaking to reporters, Shangpliang said, “All three of us have submitted our resignations from our respective Assembly seats with immediate effect and the Speaker was kind enough to receive and accepted the resignation letters accordingly.”
He also announced their decision to join the BJP and said, “All three of us are planning to join the BJP and very shortly we would be joining the party and the intention of joining the party is three of us have one mind and that is development for the state.”
Shangpliang said the state needs a lot of development and there are things that need to be done in the state considering the fact that the state is undergoing a lot of problems be it financially, be it from all aspects particularly from the law and order point of view.
He urged the people to accept the BJP as it can bring a change to Meghalaya. Shangpliang said, “BJP is a party for development and therefore, we have nothing but development so we need development for the state and therefore we are all joining together in the BJP.”
‘Not here to point fingers at MDA’
To a question whether the two NPP MLAs left the party as they are not happy with the NPP, Shangpliang said the MLAs would not like to point fingers at the MDA government and its failures.
He added, “Time will come when we are in the election campaign, that time we will bring the points to the people.”
Stating that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi can change things for Meghalaya, the MLA said, “Why we join the BJP because we look at Narendra Modi as a big role here for us. Modi can change things. We feel and we believe that things will change for Meghalaya. Look at the unemployment we are facing in the state. When Assam CM could distribute 25,000 appointment letters in one single day why can’t we do it what is holding up Meghalaya for not being able to issue that kind of appointment letters to our youths. Therefore, it is again the BJP and the ideology of Modi is to provide employment to the youth, to provide rice and houses to the rural poor and also to help the farmers. Therefore, we look forward for better days ahead so that we can serve the people of the state better.”
To a question on why he left the AITC, Shangpliang said, “When we joined the TMC, we had expectations that the TMC is a party that could bring a change but in the months that followed we saw things that were not favourable, things that would not reach the rural masses and therefore, what we are here for, we are here to bring development to the masses and the down trodden ones so that each and every household in the state are benefited with the schemes that the NDA government has to offer to the people of the state.”
Ferlin said that there is nothing wrong with the NPP “but we joined politics to serve the people and to bring development. When we are with the ruling party and we are not satisfied we have to definitely look for a bigger role so we decided to join BJP which is people-centric and farmers-centric.”
“Referring to my constituency ( Selsella), I don’t even have a single college being a part of the ruling government I was not given even a community college – so those are things which I have to change my stand from the ruling side to a bigger party,” she said.
On BJP’s acceptability in Garo Hills, Ferlin said, “The picture might be different four-five years back but now after seeing the work of the BJP for the last 10 years, people are experiencing what kind of development and promotion this NDA government is giving to the people so people and everyone knows what is happening”
Benedic added, “People already have seen the development so people now want the BJP in Meghalaya. It is my workers’ choice to join the BJP.”
