Shillong July 8: The five rebel Congress legislators, who are supporting the MDA were not invited to the meeting attended by the presidential nominee and hence they will take a call on the upcoming presidential election to be held on July 18.
“The group of five will sit and we will take a call on the matter,” suspended Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Ampareen Lyngdoh told reporters on Friday.
She admitted that besides her, the four suspended Congress MLAs- PT Sawkmie, Mayralborn Syiem, Mohendro Rapsang and Kimfa S Marbaniang – are a little disappointed and upset that they were not invited to the meeting convened by the BJP at Orchid Lake on July 6.
To a question as to whether there is a possibility that they would abstain from voting, Lyngdoh, however, said, “We will take future course of action if it is not corrected in time unless if they don’t need our votes that’s a different thing altogether. Five votes, very small, not necessary so we don’t know yet but it was not pleasant because we are part of the MDA, we are in the predicament of where we are today because we are in the MDA so it is a crazy situation but we will take our own decision in due course of time we will let you know.”
Ampareen said that the incident only goes to prove that the Congress MLAs are not working with the BJP.
“So what’s the Congress shouting about then as we are not even called to a meeting because we have a Congress tag so poor us, so sad,” she said.
On the BJP’s decision to field a tribal woman as presidential candidate, Lyngdoh said it was very exciting to see that the BJP has once again surprised the nation by taking this U-turn bringing in a woman candidate and that too with a tribal descendant.
“That was a very attractive quick resolve kind of a decision taking and so we were thinking we will go that way but then now since we are neither here nor there then we will take a call on this,” she said.
Ampareen said whether or not she can solve those issues which were flagged by UDP is a different thing altogether and whether or not the UDP was trying to earn a couple of brownies from this that’s again to be debated.
“But I would think that the issues that were flagged by the UDP should actually go to a debate sector not to a nominal head of the nation,” she said.
Regarding BJP’s failure to rise above party politics, Lyngdoh said, “They have not risen above party politics by the looks of it and this goes on to prove our stance in the MDA we are not working with BJP so wake up people of Meghalaya and realise that we are not working with the BJP. That is exactly why there is a hesitancy to call us to introduce their presidential candidate and I don’t think you should rubbish the fact that she is a rubber stamp.”
“I mean if I were to be made president I would surely try to influence whoever it is to make sure that my ideas are also implemented and my vision of things is also listened to so time will tell,” she stated.
