Shillong, Dec 3: National political parties have weakened India’s federal structure by issuing diktats that state units have to follow, even if they interfere with the public’s will, former Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said today.
Even as the CM of Meghalaya under the Congress Party until 2018, Dr Sangma said certain decisions – such as the composition of his cabinet – were out of his hands as it was the All India Congress Committee (AICC) that made these calls.
The question of whether or not Dr Sangma will once again rejoin the Congress from his current home in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been the subject of speculation over the past few weeks, especially since his brother, Zenith Sangma, returned to the Congress fold. However, his comments today seem to have drawn a line under that speculation.
Citing personal experiences of when he was CM, Dr Sangma said that it was the AICC that “forced” him to drop Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar from the cabinet (the two then defected to the National People’s Party). He questioned why ministers were removed just months before elections and why party presidents were suddenly replaced without considering the mandate of the people or the state leadership. He also recalled how in 2018 former Chief Minister DD Lapang was replaced as state Congress president by Dr Celestine Lyngdoh, who had joined the party only a few years earlier.
It was an oft-repeated action for Dr Sangma or other senior members of the state Congress to fly to New Delhi when a reshuffle was on the cards or when discontent was forming against one faction or another.
Although the Constitution states that cabinet ministers remain in office at the pleasure of the Chief Minister and it is the CM who recommends names of ministers to the Governor, in reality, he said, decisions were dictated by the party’s high command.
Although the prospect of rejoining the Congress looks farther away than ever with these comments, it does not unequivocally answer whether he will remain with the TMC, which is also subject to decisions taken by its top brass in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, Dr Sangma said he does not hold anything against his younger brother Zenith, a former cabinet minister under Mukul, for rejoining the Congress. as family has to be kept separate from politics.
However, he added that while Zenith may believe his aspirations will be fulfilled by switching sides, “he may be wrong and he will be wrong.”
What truly irked Mukul was believed to be the Congress Party’s decision to appoint Vincent Pala, then the Shillong MP, as president of the state unit. Today he did refer to internal challenges within the party as a factor that led him to leave but did not mention specific individuals.
