Congress to support ruling NPP in Meghalaya sans BJP: State party chief

Days after opposition Congress supported the ruling National People's Party in a tribal council, Congress MP Vincent H Pala said the party is ready to support the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government minus the BJP.

Pala, who is also the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief, said his party with 5 MLAs would be very happy if it can convince the NPP (with 28 MLAs) in the House of 60 to sever ties with the BJP (with 2 MLAs).

We will be very happy if we can convince the NPP to sever ties with the BJP. Minus the saffron party, we are ready to support and work together with the NPP in the state, Pala told PTI on Friday.

The Congress members of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council got the approval of the party before extending support to the NPP, he said.

The Congress, with 5 MDCs, had supported the NPP in ousting the United Democratic Party (UDP)-led United Democratic Alliance (UDA) executive committee in the KHADC.

We are ready to work with anybody except the BJP, he said.

Reacting to this, BJP spokesperson M Kharkrang said this was nothing but a publicity stunt.

This is reflective of the fear the Congress has against the BJP's transparent and zero tolerance towards corruption, he said.

Claiming that the BJP is a strong and steady partner of the MDA 2.0 alliance, Kharkrang said the BJP is an ally in the government and has been ensuring that dividends of central schemes reach the beneficiaries.