Shillong, October 7: Senior BJP legislator and former Cabinet Minister A.L. Hek on Wednesday claimed that some of the sitting NPP and TMC MLAs from Garo Hills want to join the BJP but do not have the numbers required to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. Hek said he had received calls from sitting legislators from Garo Hills belonging to different political parties who were ready to cross over but were unable to do so without the required numbers. His remarks come amid heightened political activity in Meghalaya following the recent entry of eight UDP MLAs into the BJP, raising questions over whether the BJP could attract further defections from rival parties.
Hek said the legislators were ready to join the BJP but were constrained by the anti-defection provisions. “I have recieved calls from sitting MLAs from Garo Hills, from different political parties but the issue is they don’t have the numbers for to defect. They are ready now also they are ready but until and unless they don’t have the numbers to avoid the anti Defection law, they are ready to come the sitting MLAs I am telling you.”
Asked about the parties involved, Hek said the legislators were from different political parties, while his remarks appeared to point towards the NPP and TMC, the two parties with MLAs in Garo Hills. “Every political party (hinting at NPP) irrespective of any particular political party they have to keep their flocks togather, otherwise these flocks (MLAs) are ready they keep calling us also to join the BJP but only they don’t have the numbers that’s why they cannot join because of anti Defection law.”
Hek also warned against prolonged reliance on political power, saying anti-incumbency was an unavoidable feature of electoral politics. “The power will come and power will go, the power cannot remain for long. you will see the power is there and in some years the anti incumbency will be there, so you should not cling to power all the time. The power cannot be there for ever, to live forever is to love for humanity. Arrogance , obsenitte character you cannot remain in power, we have seen so many leaders in the past who are too arrogant, too obsenitte, too proud we have seen their fall. I am here in politics in almost 30 years, I have seen all those drama.”
Hek sought to distinguish individual conduct from the identity of a political party, saying, “Arrogance is not a party, arrogance is an individual only why you blame the party, arrogant is the individuals.”
Asked whether there was anti-incumbency against the NPP, Hek said, “This is natural phenomenon, we cannot avoid this, we have seen UPA Government in power, MDA Government in power, we have seen so many chief ministers in power they are there for some time they cannot rule permanently. Anti incumbency is always there you cannot say you will rule forever.”
Hek further claimed that the BJP was receiving calls from across Meghalaya from people seeking to join the party. “In a day I get four Five calls from different parts of Meghalaya. These people wants to join BJP in bulk. The door of BJP is widely open and anybody interested to join BJP are welcome.”
