SHILLONG, AUG 24: TMC leader and former chief minister Mukul Sangma on Friday claimed that the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) is facing a trust deficiency among its own MLAs forcing it to engineer defections of legislators from other parties into its fold to fortify its position.
His reaction came in the wake of the latest political development in the state where three Congress legislators merged with the NPP, raising the Conrad Sangma led party into a clear majority of 31 in the current house of 59 legislators.
“The ruling NPP has been engaging in poaching MLAs of other political parties because they themselves don’t trust their own members. Let me be blunt. You do a little bit more of investigative journalism you will know what I am saying. You will see it sooner than later,” he claimed.
The NPP has increased its strength to 31 following the merging of the three Congress MLAs on August 19 and two People’s Democratic Front (PDF) MLAs, last year.
Mukul warned that such political developments do not augur well for the state and its people and accused the NPP of being “power hungry”. He cautioned that the NPP could face a repeat of the Ranikor defeat in the previous term when then Congress MLA Martin Danggo resigned from the Congress to join the NPP only to be defeated at the hands of the UDP in a by-election. Ever since that shock defeat, Danggo has failed to return to power.
“In 2018, you have seen the case of the then elected member from Ranikor how he fell prey to the poaching endeavour, which itself is unethical and does not augur well for the state. Then you have seen similar things post 2023 elections, merger of PDF with the NPP. What is the reason? Is there any justification? Is there any political situation, which resulted in making the members of the political parties to merge? It is nothing again; it revolves around the poaching of the elected representative in the august House. So it also reflects their desperation to remain in power, come what may,” said Mukul Sangma.
The former chief minister remained undaunted by the NPP’s latest political game to break opposition parties, sayibn that his TMC party remains rock solid behind him.
“I have full trust and confidence in my members. I think we have demonstrated that earlier also in the past,” said the legislative party leader of the TMC.
Asserting the need for smaller political parties to ensure their legislators are committed to stay in their respective parties, Mukul said, “Now, with no intent to offend anybody but it is also important for every party to ensure that their members stay as committed members of the party with the collective resolve to fulfil the vested responsibilities.”
“Now, unfortunately what has happened probably can be attributed to the party itself also. There must have been some cold war going on for a reasonable period of time resulting in this showdown,” he added.
Further, Mukul said that he along with 12 MLAs of the Congress had merged with the TMC with intent to give an alternative political platform and not with an intent to be in power prior to elections unlike the other MLAs who merged with the NPP just to be part of the government out of desperation to be in power.
“I don’t find any reason why MLAs should be so desperate to be part of the ruling dispensation unless there are some instances of inducement,” he also added.
‘Suspended MLAs don’t have power to merge’
The Congress defectors could be in a spot of trouble as two of the rebels had been placed under suspension by the party before their defection, points out Mukul Sangma.
According to the former chief minister, suspended members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) cannot split and merge with any political party.
“When MLAs are suspended by the political party to which they belong, they become suspended MLAs. They cannot be signatory to any of the decisions being made by any of the members, who are regular members and not suspended. Therefore, a suspended MLA cannot be a party to a decision to split and merge. The suspended MLAs cannot be party or cannot be a signatory in the merger letter given by MLAs of any political party, because they are suspended MLAs,” he pointed out.
Gabriel Wahlang and Charles Mangar were suspended by the Congress before joining the NPP while another rebel, Dr Celestine Lyngdoh, was spared. The Congress quickly moved in with the suspension to try and thwart the defection plans.
“It is an attempt of the party to pre-empt the chances of deciding to split or not. That is the technicality party. But how they are interpreting, whether there is a manipulation or not of all these technicalities have to be known from the entire records of which probably the office of the Speaker and the party will be in a much more position to tell you but I am only telling you the technicalities of how you interpreted it,” clarified Mukul Sangma.
The former CM also added that developments that unfolded in the run up to the switching of parties by the three Congress legislators indicate that the suspension came first before the merger which will be the core point the parent party (Congress) would raise in the legal battle.
Asked if there is a possibility of the two suspended Congress MLAs being disqualified since the Congress has decided to challenge the merger with the NPP, Mukul Sangma said these are technicalities and vis-à-vis the provisions of the tenth schedule of the Constitution of India and also various pronouncements and judgments by the Apex Court.
