Shillong, Mar 4: Suspended Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh on Friday lashed out at the Meghalaya Congress, saying all the five legislators of the party are now ‘five free independent MLAs’ and they will do what they think is right, after being suspended by the party for supporting the NPP-led MDA government.

“Somebody has booted us out of the party. When you suspend a party man or woman means you are showing them the door and you are saying bye-bye. What you decide on a press conference and say there and then oh! We will call them back oh! We will do this – is wrong,” she told reporters here on Friday and declared that all of them have suddenly become ‘five free independent MLAs’. “We will do what we think is right for the people of our constituencies and our state,” she further said.

At the same time, she hinted that the 5 legislators would not be responding to the show cause notice served to them by the MPCC, saying that they do not want to engage in anymore drama.

Nothing wrong in joining MDA

On the Congress’ allegation that the joining of the five MLAs with the MDA was more of a personal gain than for development of their respective constituencies, Lyngdoh said that she became an MLA because of the blessings of her people and there is nothing wrong for her to follow the dream that her people is having for her.

She said that they will not deny that they were offered positions which she alone refused to prove to the people that “not everything is about a particular position and that I would like to have a free hand of positions”.

She said she would like to help the MDA government to project the good things it has done and asked if there is any harm in doing that.

Joining MDA could have boosted Congress prospects

The CLP leader further stated that their joining with the MDA government would have been a good road for the Congress to move forward in 2023.

“But they (Congress) have rejected it now there is very little I can do about it – that is a decision taken by them. So you issue as many letters as you want to this is a system, we function within the ambit of law and as per the Constitution of this great nation called India,” she said.

Stating that they are not doing anything illegal, the East Shillong MLA said if there is anyone or any party that says “oh no I am joining because I love this government and I don’t want any personal gain, you are wrong, you are lying to yourself firstly and I am not lying and I am in a better position and I am going to take advantage of every moment that I can and every little thing that I deserve.”