SHILLONG, Nov 28: Three sitting MLAs – two from the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) and one from the Opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) – on Monday resigned as members of the 11th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

The two NPP legislators – Benedic R. Marak (Raksamgre) and Ferlin C.A. Sangma (Selsella) and one AITC legislator, Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang (Mawsynram) met Assembly Speaker, Metbah Lyngdoh and handed over their respective resignation letter to him at the Assembly Secretariat, Khyndai Lad here on Monday.

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 accept 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.”

He said the state needs a lot of development and there are things that need to be done in the state considering the fact that this state is undergoing a lot of problems be it financially, be it from all aspects particularly from the law and order point of view.

Urging 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.”

Stating that three MLAs would not like to point fingers at the MDA government and its failures, Shangpliang said, “Time will come when we are in the election campaign, that time we will bring the points to the people.”

Reiterating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can change things for Meghalaya, the former MLA said, “Why we join the BJP (is) 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.”

On leaving Trinamool Congress, 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 downtrodden ones so that each and every household in the state is benefited with the schemes that the NDA government has to offer to the people of the state.”