Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma 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,” Conrad Sangma told reporters on February 9.
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.
BJP state president Ernest Mawrie had maintained on February 8 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’s decision to join the MDA will not affect the relationship and commitments given to the different coalition partners, Conrad Sangma 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.”
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”.
The chief minister also said that it is not about the more the merrier but the message of unity is good.
