Former chief minister Dr. Mukul Sangma today termed the charges in the disqualification petition made by the Congress against him and nine other MLAs for joining the Trinamool Congress as complete misrepresentation and distortion of facts.
Dr. Sangma was among the ten turncoat MLAs from Congress who today filed individual replies to a show-cause notice issued by Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh based on the petition by Congress Legislature Party leader Ampareen Lyngdoh seeking their disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
Asserting that their merger with Trinamool Congress was constitutional, Dr. Sangma also said that the delay by Congress to file its complaint to the Speaker against two other MLAs, Charles Pyngrope and Shitlang Pale was an attempt to mislead them about the provisions of the Tenth Schedule.
“The move of the member who filed the petition is nothing but a reflection of the attempt to have a concocted story with complete misrepresentation and distortion of facts to only create certain kind of hurdles in the smooth functioning of the members of the august House who had agreed upon merger with the new political party,” Dr. Sangma told media persons.
He asserted that the merger of the Congress MLAs with the Trinamool Congress fulfilled all requirements under the provisions of paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution which is to have two thirds to merge with any other political party.
“The claim of the petitioner that we didn’t have two thirds is completely wrong and distorted and everyone knows the members who decided to merge with Trinamool Congress had complied with the requirement of the Tenth Schedule,” Dr. Sangma said.
On the delay by Congress to file disqualification petition against Pyngrope and Pale, Dr Sangma said, “The petitioner chose to say that number is only ten and not twelve which is nothing but an attempt to play to the gallery to create wrong perception and to delay people’s decision to join us in our new march.”
Dr. Sangma said that after the notice was served by the Speaker, all the ten MLAs have submitted their reply in accordance with the provision of the law and Constitution.
It may be mentioned that on November 25, the twelve defecting MLAs physically appeared before the Speaker to verify and testify their decision to leave Congress and merge with the Trinamool Congress as stated in the letter submitted to the Speaker.
Later, the Speaker issued a notice on December 1 seeking the replies of the ten MLAs within seven days to the disqualification petition submitted to the Speaker on November 29 by Ampareen Lyngdoh.
Lyngdoh had sought for disqualification of the MLAs from the membership of the House on various counts, as required under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India read with the provisions of Rule 6 of The Members of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1988.
