- KOHIMA — Minister
for Power and Parliamentary Affairs, KG Kenye, on Tuesday refuted allegations
that the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) engaged in poaching
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislators, following their recent merger
with the NDPP on May 31.
- Responding to accusations made by NCP’s Chief National
Spokesperson and National General Secretary, Brijmohan Shrivastav, who had
alleged that the NDPP violated alliance principles by poaching its MLAs, Kenye
clarified that the merger was carried out after completing all required
formalities.
A
file photo of KG Kenye (EM Images)
- “I think that’s a wrong assumption, and I would not like
them to use such language, because this was never engineered by anyone—least of
all our party. It was a matter of principle and commitment to the people of the
state. At no point was there any negotiation at any level. It is purely their
decision,” the minister said.
- Speaking to journalists in Kohima, Kenye said that the
legislators were accompanied by their party president and other state-level
officials when the merger petition was submitted to the Speaker. The NDPP
officially accepted the merger through a letter issued by its president,
Chingwang Konyak.
Also read: 7 Nationalist Congress Party MLAs in Nagaland merge with NDPP
- Soon after the formalities were completed, the new members
were invited to the Chief Minister’s residence for a cordial interaction,
during which they explained their reasons for merging with the NDPP. The Chief
Minister had just returned from New Delhi at the time of the meeting.
- Explaining the motivations behind the merger, Kenye said
that as a national party, the NCP is more focused on pan-India issues, which
can make addressing the unique and sensitive concerns of Nagaland more
difficult. He said the legislators, bound by the NCP’s constitution, likely
felt it was challenging to align with local sentiments, and thus found it
necessary to join the region’s largest party to better reflect the aspirations
of the people.
