CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: Claiming that there is no rift within the ruling National People's Party (NPP), Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP National President Conrad K. Sangma launched a sharp attack on Opposition MLAs, alleging a glaring lack of development in their constituencies and questioning the utilisation of MLA and MP schemes.
"Sometimes I look at different constituencies, especially in the Opposition areas, and there is a lack of development. Sometimes I doubt whether the MLA schemes are being used properly in these constituencies. I hope the people of those areas will go ahead and file RTI applications to find out how many MLAs are spending their MLA schemes properly, and how MPs are utilising their schemes. Please file RTIs and find out. I am not seeing the kind of development and kind of work that should be happening," Sangma said, issuing a direct challenge to Opposition representatives.
Asserting that the NPP remains the most cohesive political force in the state, Sangma dismissed any speculation of internal discord. "There is no rift among NPP leaders in Meghalaya. In my entire political career so far, which spans over 25 years, the way the NPP team is working today, I can assure you that there is no other team that can work like the National People's Party. The kind of commitment we have - we may have differences, I don't say we agree on everything - this is democracy; we may not always agree. Then we come together and say we agree to disagree, but we continue to work together," he said.
Reiterating that party unity is rooted in collective decision-making, Sangma added, "If there is a difference of opinion, we will sit together in a room and discuss it. But we will come out with one opinion and one decision in the end, and we will never go against that decision. The respect that we have within our party - we may have differences, as I have said - but we always make an effort to reach out. It's not about one individual or one person's decision; it is the collective decision that we take, and we work together."
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