Conrad K Sangma confirms BJP won’t be ousted from Meghalaya Democratic Alliance

Shillong, March 1, 2019:

Amid rising tensions in the Meghalaya political sphere ahead of the all-important Lok Sabha elections, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has rubbished reports that the BJP will be excluded from the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA).

While addressing the media, Conrad Sangma said: “There is no demand from the (UDP) party as such. Certain individuals have made these comments. We have been very clear from Day 1 that if this Bill had been passed earlier, we would have been forced to reconsider our ties with the NDA. We must also respect that the BJP MLAs (in Meghalaya) have been maintaining their stand very clear that they are against the CAB. They passed a resolution along with us in the Cabinet.”

Murmurs of the BJP’s ouster from the Alliance began when United Democratic Party (UDP) Vice-President Allantry Dkhar stated that the party is not comfortable in the alliance because of the BJP’s involvement in trying to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016. Although the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, continued protests in the Northeast as well as political pressure from the opposition, led to the ‘natural death’ of the Bill in the Upper House.