Guwahati: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party will continue to support the BJP-led government in Manipur, Assam minister and the BJP troubleshooter in the northeast, Himanta Biswa Sarma has tweeted. The change of heart of the MLAs — who quit the BJP-led coalition government in the northeast state earlier this month, bringing it to the brink of collapse — came after they had a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, Mr Sarma posted in the microblogging site.
“A NPP delegation led by @SangmaConrad and Dy Chief Minister of Manipur Sri Y Joy Kumar Singh met Honble President of @BJP4India Sri @JPNadda ji today in New Delhi. NPP will continue to support BJP govt in Manipur for the development of Manipur,” his tweet read.
A NPP delegation led by @SangmaConrad and Dy Chief Minister of Manipur Sri Y Joy Kumar Singh met Honble Home minister Sri @AmitShah ji today in New Delhi. Both @BJP4India and NPP will continue to work together for the development of Manipur
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 24, 2020
Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s government was thrown into turmoil earleier this month after nine MLAs — including four from key ally NPP, three from the BJP, the lone Trinamool Congress MLA and Independent MLA — withdrew support.
The NPP legislators — including the state’s former Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh and cabinet ministers N Kayisii, L Jayanta Kumar Singh and Letpao Haokip — were flown to Delhi this morning.
The NPP MLAs had joined hands with arch-rival Congress to form the Secular Progressive Front or SPF. Blaming the BJP’s high-handed behavior for the rift, they had vowed never to change their mind.
In April, Yumnam Joykumar Singh was stripped of his portfolios by Chief Minister Biren Singh following a controversy over rice allocation under the National Food Security Act during the lockdown. All four MLAs had indicated that they wanted Chief Minster N Biren Singh out.
The BJP went into damage control mode after the Congress met the Governor and demanded a floor test.
Mr Biswa Sarma and senior BJP leader Ram Madhav were deputed for crisis management. After a ,eeting with the rebels yesterday, Mr Sarma told reporters that the situation needed intervention by the party’s top leadership.
A CBI team that landed in Guwahati yesterday has been questioning former Chief Minster Okram Ibobi Singh, who was leading the SPF, in a Rs 322 crore scam.
~Source: NDTV