12th berth remains Mukul’s trump card
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The suspense over the 12th man in team Mukul continues even as Stanlywiss Rymbai has reiterated his desire to be sworn in the moment the Chief Minister gives a green signal. Unfortunately that signal looks unlikely to flash. Rymbai appears to have missed the bus.
Talking to this reporter, Stanlywiss Rymbai said, “My health is fine now and I am ready to go to Raj Bhawan for swearing in if the Chief Minister so desires.”
The Chief Minister earlier had approached Rymbai to be the 12th minister in his cabinet but he missed the swearing in ceremony reportedly due to poor health.
Since then various speculations have arisen about who will occupy the 12th berth, even as Dr Mukul Sangma is keeping his cards close to his chest. The 12th chair has unwittingly become his trump card.
What is also fuelling speculation is senior Congressman DD Lapang’s statements on his arrival at Shillong after the rapprochement with Dr Sangma which was effected by the personal intervention of AICC president Sonia Gandhi.
Lapang had claimed that it was Sonia’s directive that the four ministers who were dropped for ostensibly trying to derail the Mukul Government should be reinstated.
Dr Sangma maintains nothing of the sort transpired. So is Lapang then simply trying to placate those who supported his leadership and thereby lost their jobs, now that he is seen to have moved back into the Dr Sangma camp?
Meanwhile, one of the senior dissident leaders FW Momin, while speaking to this scribe on the same issue, said he has nothing personal against Dr Mukul Sangma but that he was only opposed to the Chief Minister’s style of functioning.
Reacting to a query about the patch up formula which includes reinstating the axed ministers and whether he would once again agree to work under Dr Sangma, Momin said, “I will have to go according to the decision of my people.”
On the compromise formula between DD Lapang and Dr Sangma to end the political rumblings, he said the compromise should be acceptable to all the members.
It may be recalled that some of the Congress leaders earlier had threatened to resign en masse if the Chief Minister was not removed as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.
But now with things settling down, the incumbent Chief Minister looks all set to complete his full tenure since he took over the reins from DD Lapang last year. And given Sonia Gandhi’s full backing, Dr Mukul Sangma looks set to have a smooth sailing. Even the list of ministers he had earlier inducted were okayed by the high command so the question of dropping them at this juncture to reinstate the recalcitrant lot remains mere speculation.
Meanwhile Dr Sangma refused to comment on the ongoing controversy stating that he has work to do and that the political instability of the past few months has slowed the progress of livelihood projects like the Social Audit Bill that he was keen to push through.