SHILLONG: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Legislature Party leader and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Friday said the party was facing a “storm” amid an unprecedented political situation in the country and asserted that its members should remain united rather than leave when the organisation was under pressure.
Sangma said political parties were bound to face challenges, including unforeseen developments and surprises, but described the present political situation as “abnormal” and “unprecedented”. He said the shifting of elected representatives across party lines after Assembly elections was something that had not been witnessed earlier in the country’s political history.
“Every political party will be confronted by challenges, foreseen, unforeseen, element of surprises. That’s a natural thing because at the end of the day there are things that happen naturally, sometimes things happen unnaturally also,” he said.
Sangma said the political dynamics unfolding across the country had created an unusual situation, particularly in the context of India’s federal structure and the distinction between State and parliamentary elections.
“Today the whole political dynamics is unfolding across the nation is something abnormal which is unprecedented, it has never been before. Something that is unusual and abnormal political scenario that has unfolded after the last Assembly elections,” he said.
Referring to instances of elected representatives changing political affiliations, Sangma said the trend was particularly concerning in a parliamentary democracy.
“We are in a democracy where the pride and strength of the nation comes from our Federal structure. When we look at the abnormal situation today, the state politics is different but in a general elections, rather a national elections, Parliamentary is different, is determined by how much majority is given for a political party,” he said.
“Post state election you have never seen MPs shifting party but today unfortunately in this country this is happening,” he added.
Sangma’s remarks came amid political churn involving TMC legislators and MPs, as he sought to underline the need for organisational solidarity at a time of uncertainty.
“Members of the Parliament belonging to TMC shifting, Member of the Legislative Assembly belonging to TMC shifting party, TMC as a party is facing a storm and when the family faces a storm, then the members of the family stay united, that’s not the time when members of the family should run away,” he said.
He said political colleagues were expected to stand by their party during difficult periods rather than abandon it when it was facing turbulence.
“That’s how the political comrades are expected to behave not like that how we see,” Sangma said.
Maintaining that his primary concern remained the interests of Meghalaya, Sangma also ruled out abandoning the party in the face of the current political uncertainty.
“Definitely I will do what is good for the state but then, given the situation as I say then Mukul Sangma is not somebody who will run away at the time when the party is facing the storm,” he said.
TMC Facing Storm, Members Should Stay United, Not Run Away: Mukul Sangma
