SHILONG:
If Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Pynthorumkhrah constituency Alexander Laloo Hek is to be believed, all is well between him and his party colleague and cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai.
Days after exchanging accusations and counter-accusations through the press, Hek, who, on July 11, shared the dais with Shullai in the presence of Union minister of state, Rameshwar Teli, said that there are “no differences” between the two BJP leaders.
“Since we have no differences, there is no question of burying any hatchet,” said the former Health minister, adding that “internal rumblings” are “part-and-parcel” of party politics.
“Today, we were in a meeting together with our honourable Union Minister; we were sharing the same dais. So, in BJP there is no leaving, no fighting, only loving,” said Hek, adding that such frictions happen for a day or two, but things usually fall into place on the third.
The Union minister, however, said that he is completely oblivious of any such discord between the two BJP leaders.
The party’s coalition partner in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), National People’s Party, however, urged the two BJP leaders to iron out their differences in an appropriate platform.
“Since I am not a BJP member, I can’t much on this. But my suggestion to them will be to sort things out in an appropriate platform and that is, the BJP executive committee or whatever they call it,” said deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong.
Earlier on July 6, Shullai had interrupted United Democratic Party (UDP) and assembly Speaker, Metbah Lyngdoh’s speech when the latter was raising concerns over atrocities committed against the tribal communities across the country in a closed-door meeting with the NDA presidential candidate that was attended by almost all political leaders of the state.
Later, Shullai, had sought action against his party colleague Hek for trying to take political mileage out of the incident, alleging that the issue was “blown out of proportion” by the Pynthorumkhrah legislator.
Tynsong, however, refused to comment on the incident saying, since he was not physically present in the said meeting and only got to know about it through the media, it won’t be appropriate of him to comment on it.
“As the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, all I can say that the meeting with the NDA presidential nominee didn’t happen inside the House. It was purely a meeting on the presidential polls and I have no comments to make on it,” said the deputy Chief Minister.
Batting for the need to maintain decorum in such meetings, Tynsong said, “I think MLAs should not interrupt when others speak – be it inside the house or outside.”