Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla today justified her decision to invite BJP to form the government in the north-eastern state by stating that the party has the requisite numbers.
On Congress's contention that she should have first invited the party to form the government since it emerged as the single largest party after the state Assembly election, Heptulla told reporters, "I do not know what allegations they are making. I am a straight-forward person. I go by the book. I know the rules and regulations."
"BJP has the requisite numbers. They are more than 30. It will be helpful for Manipur," she said.
Clarifying her position on the matter further, the Governor said, "My 37 years in Parliament and 17 years in the Chair (as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman)... when I was a member of the Congress party, I had to work with non-Congress governments, including Janata government, BJP and many others. I had to work with at least five different prime ministers and nobody ever made an allegation that I did something wrong.
"For Manipur we need lots of development, lots of jobs and I feel that it is very necessary that we should have stability in the state," she said.
On being quizzed regarding the number of ministers who will take oath tomorrow, Heptulla said, "The list will come to me."
Published 14 March 2017, 15:05 IST