Meghalaya CM says there will be no change in his cabinet

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaFebruary 9, 2022

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said that there will be no cabinet reshuffling following the joining of five Congress legislators with the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government.

“We will see, we will discuss and we will take to them (Congress MLAs) and see what has to be done but there will be no change in the cabinet,” Sangma told reporters.

The chief minister has also decided to call the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for discussion after its state leadership had expressed disappointment over the NPP’s decision to welcome the Congress to be part of the ruling coalition.

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BJP state president Ernest Mawrie had maintained that it is not possible for the BJP and the Congress to work together by citing that “a lion and a deer cannot drink water together from the same river”.

Reacting to this, Sangma said, “I will call them (BJP) for discussion and we will try to resolve the issue.”

Reiterating that the Congress’ decision to join the MDA will not affect the relationship and commitments given to the different the different coalition partners, the chief minister said, “I think nobody has to take it in any other sense but look at it as a positive development of legislators coming together to ensure important issues of the state can be addressed in a proper manner.”

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Whether he sees it as a burden, Sangma however said it has come with challenges but it also has its plus points and advantages because when people come together and support the government, it helps us to move in a much more confident manner.

“There will be plus and there will be minus but I strongly feel that this message of unity and working together would be more of a positive side than the cons of this entire situation,” he asserted.

The chief minister also said that it is not about the more the merrier but the message of unity is good.

“It is a positive message to the people of the state that their legislatures are working together, I think that’s what they think I don’t think it is about the more the merrier, it is not about burden of course challenges are going to be there but one has to see the larger picture and the larger goal,” he further added.

Whether he would also welcome the opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Sangma said, “It is up to them it is not my call, it was a call taken by the CLP that they would like to support. Let them write, we will see how it will be.”