The Meghalaya Congress Legislature Party has called for a new ruling dispensation in the state, claiming that Meghalaya is not safe in the hands of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his political allies.
“If we don’t act to ensure that there is a new dispensation, who will be vested with the responsibility of governance, then the state that has already slipped back from the normalcy that had been restored, will be inflicted with irreversible problems that will be difficult to resolve,” former Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma told reporters after the meeting today. “We have resolved to write to all political parties who are in the government to put our heads together on how we can save the state and interests of the people.”
The meeting was called for after violence rocked Shillong over the weekend.
The leader of the opposition said, “We have to save the state, not for the interest of Mukul Sangma or the members of the CLP but for the larger interest of the state and the people, which supersedes everything.”
The police’s killing of former militant Cherishterfield Thangkhiew on August 13 will have serious ramifications for the future of Meghalaya, the ex-CM said.
It was under Dr Sangma’s rule that militancy was almost completely wiped out in Garo Hills. Since the coming of the National People’s Party (NPP) to power in the state, however, the banned Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has started to show signs of reinvigoration.
Dr Sangma said that dealing with militancy and insurgency needs a team that is completely focused where priorities cannot be superseded.
“We have a situation where there is a government but there is no governance,” he added.
Dr Sangma was also critical of the way the resignation of Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui became thoroughly confusing, with no clarity on whether his resignation was accepted or not.
“This means that they want to shrug off this important responsibility of dealing with the important Home Department and police, which speaks volumes of the government. They have the responsibility that supersedes everything else but they are trying to escape responsibility. The MDA was caught when they were in deep slumber and did not know how to handle the situation and finally, the Home Minister also found the situation too hot and dropped it. This is how these people want to take responsibility for governing the state. Is this a joke?” he asked.
