Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Vincent H. Pala launched a strong attack on National People’s Party (NPP) Chief and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma over the newly announced One North East alliance, questioning its motive and practicality. Pala alleged that the people of Meghalaya would have to bear the cost of resources being transferred to Nagaland, Tripura, and other parts of the region, claiming that all resources for such ventures would come from Meghalaya’s coal, farmers, and hardworking citizens. He accused the alliance—featuring Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, Nagaland’s Mmhonlumo Kikon, and Assam’s People’s Party leader Daniel Langthasa—of aiming at diverting public attention to mask failures.
He said, “How much they can rob the people and spend their resources there. All the resources for all those will come from Meghalaya only, will come from the coal, will come from the farmers, will come from the hard workers of Meghalaya.”
The coalition, which brings together leaders like Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, Nagaland BJP’s Mmhonlumo Kikon, and Assam’s People’s Party leader Daniel Langthasa, claims to represent the collective voice and rights of the indigenous people of the region.
But Pala was unsparing in his criticism, calling the move a recycled idea with no real substance. “This is not a new idea, it’s an old idea. When they failed everywhere, the only thing to divert the mindset of the people is to unite this in the name of regional, in the name of religion, in the name of tribes. That’s why it is not a new idea. This is the marketing done to divert the attention of the people,” he said, accusing the leaders of exploiting identity politics to mask their failures.
The Congress leader asserted that such regionalist ventures lack a practical foundation in India’s federal structure. “According to me, politics cannot be by regional alone, it has to be because India is so huge, it’s a country. You cannot govern by regional; you have to govern by national interest and regional interest both,” Pala remarked, adding that Meghalaya remains dependent on other states for basic needs like food, education, and healthcare.
He further questioned the economic feasibility of the initiative, warning that Meghalaya’s resources could be drained to sustain the ambitious regional experiment. “We have to do a lot of homework, we have to spend a lot of resources to unite people. Whether this government, whether the people of Meghalaya are ready to pay for all these resources which will be transferred to Nagaland, transferred to Tripura, transferred to other parts — how much they can rob the people and spend their resources there — there is a limitation for everything,” he cautioned.
While acknowledging that the late P.A. Sangma once dreamt of uniting the Northeast, Pala distinguished that vision from the current initiative, saying the latest attempt is politically opportunistic rather than ideological. “Politics is not about the area, the politics is about the party. It is designed in such a way that you cannot say because we are from the same area, we should have the same party. We are from this religion, we should have a party; we are from this tribe, we should have the same party. Politics is such that the party has no boundaries; you can join from all sections of the people — tribal, non-tribal, minority, majority,” Pala asserted.
Pala also hinted at the alliance being a political convenience among BJP allies in the Northeast rather than a genuine movement for regional unity. “This is a bunch of the NDA partners. Pradyot is a partner of BJP in Tripura, Conrad is a partner of BJP in Meghalaya, and the rest of the people who are there are working with BJP or are ex-members of BJP. So I personally feel that the idea may be good but practically very challenging for them — whether the people will trust them, and whether the idea they will be able to market to the rest of the people of the North East.”
Driving home his criticism, Pala expressed skepticism over the financial backbone of the initiative, boldly claiming that Meghalaya’s resources would end up funding the venture. “I am very confident that all the resources for all those will come from Meghalaya only, will come from the coal, will come from the farmers, will come from the hard workers of Meghalaya,” he alleged.
Ending on a note of cautious realism, the Congress leader said, “Unity is always good, but it has to be pragmatic and it has to be implementable. I personally feel that they will not succeed. They may succeed amongst the BJP partners, but the rest of the people — I don’t think so.”
