The final day of the Autumn Session of the Meghalaya Assembly witnessed heated exchanges between the opposition Congress and the National People’s Party (NPP).
Soon after Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had finished replying to the short duration discussion, the mover, Zenith Sangma, was on his feet and alleged that the former was “speaking in the air” without basing his response on facts and figures, which was, he said, Conrad’s habit.
When the Rangsakona MLA tried to refer to a submission made by Phulbari MLA, SG Esmatur Mominin, regarding the MBOSE incident of September 30, 2005, in which several youth died in Tura, he said that it was closed chapter and even the judicial enquiry was completed.
Irked by the comment against his leader, Government Chief Whip Marcuise Marak stood up and asked why was the opposition MLA scared of the dead.
An irate Zenith replied, “I am not scared, that is why I am speaking. If I would have been scared I would have just kept quiet.”
Raising a point of order, leader of opposition Dr Mukul Sangma said that only members who took part in the discussion can participate and, therefore, Marcuise should not have spoken during the short duration discussion.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, meanwhile, said that this was the first time ever where the short duration discussion took more than two and half hours.
