Shillong, Feb 9: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said he will call the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for discussion after its state leadership expressed disappointment over the NPP’s decision to welcome the Congress to be part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government coalition.
BJP state president Ernest Mawrie said it is not possible for the BJP and the Congress to work together by citing that “a lion and a deer cannot drink water together from the same river”.
Reacting to this, Sangma said, “I will call them (BJP) for discussion and we will try to resolve the issue.”
Reiterating that the Congress’ decision to join the MDA will not affect the relationship and commitments given to the different the different coalition partners, the chief minister said, “I think nobody has to take it in any other sense but look at it as a positive development of legislators coming together to ensure important issues of the state can be addressed in a proper manner.”
Whether he sees it as a burden, Sangma however said it has come with challenges but it also has its plus points and advantages because when people come together and support the government, it helps to move in a much more confident manner.
“There will be plus and there will be minus but I strongly feel that this message of unity and working together would be more of a positive side than the cons of this entire situation,” he asserted.
The chief minister also said that it is not about the more the merrier but the message of unity is good.
“It is a positive message to the people of the state that their legislatures are working together, I think that’s what they think I don’t think it is about the more the merrier, it is not about burden of course challenges are going to be there but one has to see the larger picture and the larger goal,” he further added.
No change in Cabinet
At the same time, he also ruled out the possibility of a cabinet reshuffling following the joining of five Congress legislators with the MDA government.
“We will see, we will discuss and we will talk to them (Congress MLAs) and see what has to be done but there will be no change in the cabinet,” Sangma said.
