Shillong, Nov 26: Former Assembly Speaker and Nongthymmai legislator Charles Pyngrope said the decision taken by the Congress MLAs to merge with the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) will bring a brighter prospect for the North East region and the country as a whole.

“We hope and we know that this merger will bring a brighter prospect for the state, the entire region and the entire country as a whole,” said Pyngrope  while addressing media persons on Thursday.

He also said that the collective decision has not been coerced by any external factors.

“It was our own decision after giving a great thought for the larger interest of our people. I hope from today onwards you will see a team that will work towards achieving that hope and aspiration of the people,” he said.

Pyngrope further asserted the need to expand the TMC in the North East region.

“We can now create a platform and to expand it not only in Meghalaya but in other parts of the North East as a whole to take on the NDA government in the next elections,” he said.

Stating that the void has been created by the ineffectiveness of the Indian National Congress (INC), the former Congress leader said, “We need a space to be created wherein our potentials to work as leaders can be utilized to the optimum.”

Sharing his meeting with the IPAC leader Prashant Kishor, he said, “His (Kishor) views and ideas and visions to take the country forward, to fight against the divisive forces and communal forces match almost totally with what we had in mind.”

“Therefore, we decided that it would be in the best interest of the people to join hands for a better cause to remove the ambiguity that is happening in our country and our state and ensure everyone of us get a space to live within the parameters of the constitution and our fundamental rights,” he added.

When asked, Pyngrope said that the TMC has proved their worth.

“The team that is working with them (TMC) will be working with us also. So we have a backup of strategic thinking and analytic processing which will enable us to become the leaders we need to be and to deliver the goods to the people. The decision was therefore taken for that reason,” he stated.