The sudden resignation of Chiranjib Choudhury as general secretary of the Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA) has led RG Lyngdoh to quit as adviser to the body.
Choudhury had resigned last week after repeated prodding from a pressure group. The Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO), which in November called for all non-tribals in the various sports associations of the state to step down, repeated its demand last week, following which Choudhury quit.
The ex-general secretary cited “personal commitments towards business and family” but the timing of his resignation left observers in no doubt as to what the real reason was; why the MSOA president, Banteidor Lyngdoh, who is also Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, did not reject the resignation is also not known. Instead the MSOA quickly elected Finely Pariat as Choudhury’s replacement.
Another source within the association said that HITO was used as a convenient tool to push Choudhury out but warned that this sets a terrible precedent – where the diktats of an outside force with no standing within the MSOA should be unopposed. He feared that further demands could be in the offing by pointing out that Garo Hills-based groups could push for representation for their fellow tribesmen at the top table of the MSOA as there is currently no one from the Garo community present. Selection of athletes could also now be influenced by rampant demands from every group that had an axe to grind.
Choudhury remains secretary of the Meghalaya Table Tennis Association, of which Lyngdoh is the president.
In his letter today, Lyngdoh, who is hoping to make a comeback to state politics in 2023, said that the circumstances leading to and the manner in which Choudhury resigned his post “has left a very bad taste in my mouth.”
“The secular nature of the constitution of the MSOA is only as good as the people entrusted to protect and implement it. I cannot remain a bystander as it is violated,” he added.
Lyngdoh addressed a copy of his letter to the Working President of the MSOA, John F Kharshiing, requesting that the matter be “candidly discussed” at the next general body meeting.
When contacted, Kharshiing said that the letter had only just been received by the MSOA and, as such, had not been discussed officially. However, he described Lyngdoh’s resignation as a loss to the MSOA.
