Senior Congress Dr. Mukul Sangma on Dr. Donkupar Roy

A Correspondent

SHILLONG: Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Dr. Mukul Sangma said that Dr. Donkupar Roy put the State ahead of his personal benefits. Dr. Mukul Sangma recalled that prior to the 2018 Assembly polls, he had offered Dr. Roy to contest from the Congress party, but the latter declined.

“I told him why don’t you join the Indian National Congress but Dr. Roy only smiled and said that it was more difficult to manage your party (Congress) than run a government,” the Opposition leader said.

Dr. Sangma said that after the 2018 Assembly polls in Meghalaya, when there was a hung House, and the Congress leadership from Delhi pressurized him to form the government, even though he personally was not inclined to since he did not have the numbers, the Congress approached the UDP, but Dr. Roy politely declined to have any truck with the Congress. “He told me (Dr. Sangma), under the present political dynamics and with UDP not getting into double digits, he (Dr. Roy) had already given his commitment to form the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance,” the opposition leader said.

However, Dr. Roy told the leader of Opposition that he did so in the larger interest of the people of the State and in future circumstances allows then they can be together again.

Dr. Sangma also said that during the time they were together in the government, Dr. Roy would always do a balancing act.

“Though we were together in the government I was always outspoken and he was a man of few words,” the Opposition leader said. Dr. Sangma also said that Dr. Roy was never a vindictive politician and he would always remind that due to political affiliations, legislators would suffer.

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