Congress Party leader and Mylliem MLA Ronnie V Lyngdoh has maintained that if there is a leader of the opposition in the Assembly then issues can be taken up as one unit.
In a house of 60 legislators, the official leader of the opposition should be from a party with a strength of at least 10. However, none of the three parties – Congress (5), Trinamool Congress (5) and Voice of the People Party (4) – have the required numbers and they have shown themselves to be incapable or unwilling to work together.
“We are only 14 in the opposition and if we have an alliance then we can take up issues as one unit but the VPP has made it clear that it does not want to work with the Congress or the TMC and the matter ends there,” Lyngdoh said.
Victory for the Congress in May 10’s deferred Sohiong election could give it a stronger hand against the TMC but the matter of recognising a leader of the opposition would still rest with the Assembly Speaker.
Meanwhile, to a question if the National People’s Party (NPP) is really planning on snatching power in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), Lyngdoh who is also the Mylliem MDC, said that he is not aware of such a move as the Congress is in opposition in the KHADC too.
Lyngdoh said that the Congress was not invited to the joint meeting held on April 24 where the three autonomous district councils unanimously decided to oppose the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in the Sixth Schedule areas.
