Congress MLA from Mylliem, Ronnie V. Lyngdoh has been officially recognised as the Leader of Opposition of the 11th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
“Ronnie V. Lyngdoh, a Member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, has been recognised by the Hon’ble Speaker as the Leader of Opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly with effect from forenoon of 8th June, 2023,” stated the notification issued by the State Assembly Secretariat today.
The Leader of Opposition is entitled to the salary, allowances and other facilities equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.
The appointment of Lyngdoh as the Leader of Opposition comes after nearly three months that the new House was constituted after the February 27 Assembly elections.
The delay was caused by the lack of consensus among the three opposition parties – Congress, Trinamool Congress and Voice of the People Party (VPP) on who should be the Leader of Opposition.
Congress and Trinamool Congress have five members each while VPP has four.
As per rule, the party which claims the post of Leader of Opposition should have at least ten members in the Assembly (one-sixth of the total strength of 60 members in the House) for recognition.
Since none of the three opposition parties fulfills the criterion, the matter got delayed.
The Congress however pointed to precedent where the late Dr. Donkupar Roy was appointed as Leader of Opposition when UDP did not have the required numbers.
The VPP has already made it clear that it will have no alliance with either Congress or Trinamool Congress. It also stated that it will maintain a separate entity in the Assembly.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Saleng A. Sangma has been appointed as the Opposition Chief Whip in the Meghalaya Assembly. The notification of his appointment was issued today.
