From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: A delegation of Meghalaya MLAs led by the Speaker Charles Pyngrope left for a three-nation tour on Monday.
The Centre gave clearance to this visit at the last moment after a lot of haggling and wheedling.
The letter seeking “political clearance” for visit to Manila, Hanoi and Bangkok came from the Assembly secretariat a month ago and the same got nod only on Friday, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said.
But the leader of the Opposition in the State assembly Connard Sangma, who was supposed to be part of the team, however, left for Israel leading a group of young politicians. The Union Government will bear the expenses for this trip.
Unlike earlier occasions, this trip with a large number of legislators with almost one fourth of the total strength of the House and four officials including one typist had created controversies.
The three-nation tour of the State legislators was at the invitation from the Philippines Legislators Committee on Social Affairs, Vietnam Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs and Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development in Thailand respectively.