Shillong, Sept 1: The MDA government faces no threat from reports of nine UDP MLAs likely to merge with the BJP, Deputy Chief Minister and NPP state president Prestone Tynsong said on Tuesday.
Tynsong pointed out that the NPP by itself holds a majority in the 60-member Assembly and asserted that the media reports about “defection” in UDP has not been flagged within the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA).
“We have regular MDA meetings. Whenever there are issues related to constituencies, we are open to discussing them. All partners speak to me, to the Chief Minister or to Sniawbhalang Dhar and we resolve it,” he said.
The buzz could be due to “internal issues, internal fighting” within the UDP, he added.
On whether the development could affect the NPP, he said the government is secure in numbers.
“Our strength alone is 33. We need 30-31 to form the government, so we have already crossed that mark,” Tynsong said.
He said the NPP would not interfere in the internal matters of other parties.
“We have nothing to say or comment on this as it is their internal and personal understanding. But the government is strong, stable and will complete its full term till 2028 and beyond,” he added.
‘Took on issues others avoided’
Tynsong, meanwhile, mentioned that in its 14-year journey, which has been challenging, NPP is the only party that has dared to take up issues which past governments avoided.
“Celebrating 14 years today also happens to be the birthday of our founder late P A Sangma. If I recall, these 14 years have been very challenging, especially after we took over the government in 2018… We have grown and become more mature in facing challenges,” Tynsong said.
He said the NPP-led MDA government has taken up several long-pending issues since 2018.
“There were areas where no government dared to take up issues, but we did,” while mentioning the inter-state boundary issue, Harijan Colony, etc.
Stating that the issue of relocation of Harijan Colony is still alive, he said, “Don’t say we have forgotten it. We will have a meeting very soon to finalise it in detail, as the decision has to be in conformity with the High Court order since the case is before the court,” he said.
Tynsong added that resolutions on ILP, language and uranium mining show the party’s commitment.
“You have seen resolutions on ILP, language and uranium mining. More such issues will come up. These will further strengthen the people of the state with special focus on the safety and security of our tribal people,” he said.
