NONGPOH:
Former Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), Cleophas B Syiem, along with his supporters joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a function in Nongpoh, Ri Bhoi District on January 10.
The induction programme was attended by BJP leader in-charge Ri Bhoi district B. Suting, state vice president Dr. Everist Myrsing, who is also the party candidate from Mawhati Constituency, along with other top leaders of the party.
Speaking at the event, Syiem, who quit the National People’s Party (NPP), expressed his immense happiness at being inducted into the BJP by leaders of the party, adding that he quit the NPP party after the state government failed to meet its commitments in terms of fulfilling many aspiration of the people of Ri Bhoi district especially Nongpoh Assembly constituency.
He also said as one of the top brass politicians in Ri Bhoi, he joined the Congress party in 2002 with the aim to serve the people of the district and also Nongpoh. He further said as the local MDC and as the CEM he had brought many developmental projects and also proposed different projects which are still pending and which were not fulfilled by the Congress party.
“Myself as one of the politicians, paid due respect to DD Lapang, a veteran politician who was a leader in the Congress party in the state. But after the Congress party led by Dr. Mukul Sangma, the then chief minister, failed to respect Lapang, who left the party and joined the NPP, and after witnessing the disrespect by the party to the veteran leader, I also left Congress and joined NPP in 2017, with the hopes that this party will fulfil many pending projects in Nongpoh,” Syiem said.
He went on to say that he joined the NPP with the hopes of serving the people of Nongpoh constituency, but after a few years he found that the Conrad K Sangma led party also failed to meet the needs of the people. He said that after witnessing the many projects which are worth more than hundreds of crores pending while some were diverted to Garo Hills, he made the decision to leave the NPP and join the BJP which has been serving the people of the country and the state well.