Mukul refuses to join back Congress instead asks party workers to join BJP: Vincent Pala

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 21, 2024

Opposition Congress chief and Shillong MP Vincent H Pala on Thursday said the party had approached and requested Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former chief minister Mukul Sangma to come back to the Congress but he is determined to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the upcoming elections to the 18^th Lok Sabha.

Speaking to reporters, Pala said, “I can confess in front of all of you our team has gone and met Dr Mukul and told Dr Mukul you come back. I told Mukul you come back to the Congress or you be in the TMC, we will work together but rather he himself try to tell our people to go to the BJP.”

Alleging that Mukul is determined to join the BJP, Pala said, “Definitely, they (Mukul and his team) will join (the BJP). They try to call many of our workers. For example in Ri Bhoi, they have already started telling our people to let us join the BJP. In Shillong West and other places also, the TMC leaders are trying to call our leaders to join the BJP. From the TMC, they told us to join the BJP.”

He said this is the reason why the Congress refused to have an alliance with the TMC in Meghalaya. According to him, the party in the state had done its proper home work before taking this decision.

“In Meghalaya, personally I and my team have discussed thoroughly because we know the TMC leaders are in talks with the BJP many times. It is written in the walls that after elections, many of the TMC leaders will join the BJP. Accordingly, I brief the high command and our leaders and they agree with me so we don’t have an alliance here because we know that TMC is the B-team of BJP. That is why we don’t have an alliance here. Why should we sacrifice? Today we told our people especially the Congress to vote for the TMC, tomorrow if they go to BJP we will fall prey to that ideas of the BJP,” Pala stated

“That is why keeping all those in mind, I think we are smart enough to see the ground reality that TMC is no more a TMC which we think in Bengal, TMC in Meghalaya is totally different TMC. With that idea, I think we could convince our high command and we told them that we should not have an alliance here. It is not that we don’t like the TMC but we think that it is wrong to have in Meghalaya because their leaders are already in that line (that they will join the BJP),” he added.

Pala said therefore, the question of clash of ego between him and Mukul Sangma does not arise.

“I don’t have an ego. I can tell you I never think about my personal, I never think about my benefits, I always think about the interest of the people and the interest of the party. So I always put aside ego, I don’t have an ego and if somebody has an ego with me that’s a different issue. I don’t have an ego with anybody. I am ready to talk, to work for the interest of the party and interest of the people. So the question of ego does not arise as far as I am concerned,” he said.

Further, the Congress chief also expressed confidence that the party will do better than the TMC in Garo Hills in the upcoming LS polls.

“That is why definitely in Garo Hills, Congress will do better than TMC, I can assure you. Winning or losing that is a next level but we will give a good fight and our party will revive in Meghalaya.

We cannot revive the party if we are strong only in Khasi Hills, if we are weak in Jaintia and Garo Hills, we have to be strong in all districts and entire state then only people will trust us and after this MP election, winning or losing as I said it is a different level but you will see people will come back to the Congress,” he said.

“I think TMC will not get vote more than the BJP. According to me, TMC will come last in Garo Hills this time. The way the TMC workers, cadres and leaders have joined the Congress in Garo Hills, it seems that TMC will not be able to get even at the level which BJP got in Garo Hills,” he added.