Jirang becomes hotbed of Congress politicking
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The trouble in the Jirang Block Congress Committee (JBCC) has brought to the forefront the infighting among the top Congress leaders in the State.
“The ongoing crisis in the JBCC is not a surprise since the top Congress leaders who are aspiring for the Chief Minister’s post are trying to field their favourite candidates in the various constituencies,” Congress party sources said here on Sunday.
The party sources also said that the top Congress leaders are trying field their own candidates for the simple reason that they want to have a majority support in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) after the 2013 Assembly election so that they might have a claim to Chief Minister’s post.
“The tussle in the JBCC in fact is between the supporters of Union Minister of State of Water Resources and Minority Affairs, Vincent H Pala, and former Chief Minister and Nongpoh MLA DD Lapang,” sources said.
Lapang’s supporters is being led by former KHADC chief Cleophas B Syiem who is known to be a loyalist of the former Chief Minister, sources said while adding that Pala’s supporters are being led by former Congress MDC of Jirang Constituency, William Mynsong.
Meanwhile, in a new twist to the politicking in the JBCC, Mynsong on Sunday claimed that he is still the ‘president’ of the JBCC which was constituted on June 28, 2010.
The election to the JBCC was conducted as per the convention of the party, Mynsong said while adding that the former chief of the KHADC (Cleophas) was appointed as the Block Returning Officer for the election.
“The JBCC which was constituted after the election has been recognised by the MPCC,” Mynsong said in a statement.
While maintaining that till date they have not received any intimidation from the MPCC regarding dissolution of the JBCC, the former Congress MDC said that the so called ad-hoc committee as projected by Syiem and his associates does not have the approval of the MPCC.
“The formation of an ad-hoc committee is purely a selfish motive and is intended to malign the duly-elected JBCC and to weaken its functioning,” Mynsong claimed.
Earlier, a faction of the JBCC had maintained that the JBCC body under Mynsong had already been dissolved by the MPCC on February 2 last and a new ad-hoc body under the leadership of Snomic Kalwing, former Jirang MLA, had been constituted.
Interestingly, Syiem, who was the Block Returning Officer during the election of the Block Congress Committee on June 28, 2010, is now backing the ad-hoc body under the leadership of Kalwing.
The controversy over the Jirang Block Congress Committee started when it was alleged that Shillong MP, Vincent Pala, has announced a friend of his from Jowai as a probable candidate for the 2013 Assembly election from the constituency at a public meeting held last week.