By Our Reporter
Shillong: The 1st North East Regional Conference of Mahila Congress which was scheduled to start at 10 am was delayed by an hour-and-a-half with the function beginning at 11:30 am, much to the discomfiture of the participants and the media.
The reason for the delay – late arrival of the chief guest All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) president Anita Verma, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma and MPCC president Friday Lyngdoh. Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and MPCC working president Deborah Marak, who arrived on time, were also seen waiting for the arrival of the chief guest. The State Congress, which normally claims itself to be “disciplined and united”, was once again found wanting in following its own principles. Mahila members, who came from various states of the region and the media had to wait till 11:45 am for the inauguration. What was more annoying was that the organisers repeatedly kept on announcing that the chief guest was about to arrive, while asking the participants to be seated for the duration of delay. Unpunctuality is a common trend among politicians of the State, especially the Congress leaders who have a history of late arrivals at functions. Even Dr Mukul Sangma himself, in the past, arrived late at functions on several occasions.