Meghalaya: 3 incumbent MLAs resign from assembly, announce decision to join BJP
The two NPP legislators – Benedict Marak (Raksamgre) and Fairlene Sangma (Selsella) – and TMC legislator Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang (Mawsynram) met assembly speaker Metbah Lyngdoh and handed over their resignation letters at the state secretariat on Monday
Three incumbent Meghalaya MLAs – two from the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) and one from the opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) – on Monday resigned as members of the 11th legislative assembly and decided to joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The two NPP legislators – Benedict Marak (Raksamgre) and Fairlene Sangma (Selsella) – and TMC legislator Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang (Mawsynram) met assembly speaker Metbah Lyngdoh and handed over their resignation letters at the state secretariat on Monday.
Speaking to journalists, Shangpliang said, “All three of us have submitted our resignations from our respective Assembly seats with immediate effect and the Speaker was kind enough to accept it.”
Announcing their decision to officially join the BJP he said, “All three of us are planning to join the BJP very shortly with the intention of bringing development to the state.”
Shangpliang said Meghalaya needs “a lot of development” since the state is undergoing several problems, such as financial health and law-and-order situation.
Urging the people to accept the BJP, he said, “BJP is a party [that works] for development, therefore we are all joining together.”
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The three turncoats, however, abstained from pointing fingers at the ruling government.
“A time will come when we are in the election campaign, and we will bring our points to the people,” Shangpliang said.
“We joined the BJP because we look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a significant role model. PM Modi can change things. We feel and we believe that things will change for Meghalaya. Look at the unemployment rate in the state. When the Assam chief minister could distribute 25,000 appointment letters in one single day, why can’t we do it? What is holding up Meghalaya? It is the ideology of the BJP and PM Modi to provide employment to the youth, provide rice and houses to the rural poor, and help farmers,” he said.
