MPA coalition partners sing unity chorus

Shillong, Sep 13 (UNI) The coalition partners of the Nationalist Congress Party-backed Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) have reaffirmed faith under the leadership of Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy and would complete the five-year-term.

The Chief Minister summoned an emergency MPA's parliamentary party meeting late last evening and briefed his coalition partners on the political situation in the state.

''The Chief Minister briefed us on the exact ground political situation amid media reports of rumblings in the coalition government,'' a Legislator of the coalition government said.

''The government is stable and the coalition is united under one umbrella,'' Dr Roy told reporters soon after the MPA members reposed faith in him.

''After seeing all the coalition partners reposing faith in me, I am confident that this government will last out its full term,'' Dr Roy, who is leading the multi-parties coalition government, said.

The MPA comprises of the Nationalist Congress Party (15), United Democratic Party (11), Hill State Peoples Democratic Party (2), one each from the BJP and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement and three Independent MLAs.

''We are committed to complete our full five year term come what may,'' NCP national general secretary P A Sangma reiterated.

Mr Sangma, who was the main architect of the MPA, however, maintained that the NCP leadership would not force the state leadership to change the coalition equation in Meghalaya.

The Congress, which emerged as the single largest party, was short of just six seats to cross the majority threshold in the House.

In fact, the Congress required just three more Legislators to tilt the balance in their favour but failed to sway any.

In the past few days, certain newspapers have been reporting that the some disgruntled Legislators belonging to both UDP and NCP had approached the Congress for initiating an alternative government.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said the Common Minimum Programme of the MPA government would be approved by the Cabinet to ensure that the government departments did not face difficulty in implementing the CMP in letter and spirit.

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