Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh is likely to announce in the House on Monday whether to admit the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition Congress against him.
As per rules, it depends on the Speaker to admit the no-trust motion and also after the same is admitted, he would decide the date for debate on such motion.
It may be mentioned that the Congress with 17-members had decided to table a no-confidence motion against the Speaker in the current autumn session of the Assembly.
While Leader of Opposition Dr. Mukul Sangma has not revealed the reason for wanting to remove the Speaker he has however stated that the Congress was not against the Speaker personally.
However, sources said that the no-confidence motion was moved by the opposition in order to get ample time and opportunity to debate on various burning issues in the State such as corruption, illegal coal transportation, MeECL scams, border dispute and the police killing of former HNLC leader Cherishterfield Thangkhiew among others.
If the Congress wins the no-confidence motion against the Speaker it will automatically show that the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government has lost its confidence and majority in the House.
All allies of the ruling MDA met on September 8 to discuss floor strategies to defeat the no-confidence motion in the House.
Already, NPP, UDP and HSPDP have publicly stated they would stand by the Speaker and vote against the motion.
The autumn session of the Assembly began on September 10 and will conclude on September 17.
As per the calendar for the session, three days (September 13, 15 and 16) have been permitted for motions and resolutions by members of the House.
It may be recalled that the last time the no-confidence motion was moved by the opposition Congress against the MDA government was on November 12, 2020.
All 40 MLAs of the ruling coalition voted against the motion except KHNAM’s legislator Adelbert Nongrum who decided to neither support the MDA or the opposition.
