By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: UDP legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has questioned the merger of the now-defunct KHNAM with the UDP since it is yet to be ratified by the General Council (GC) of the party.
“Unless it is ratified by the party GC, the merger of the two parties is not official. As per the party constitution, any major decision would have to be approved by the GC,” Basaiawmoit said while speaking to reporters here on Thursday.
He said that the party leadership has taken the merger decision at its own level without taking into confidence party supporters at the grassroots level.
“The fact is that majority of the party workers are not happy with this merger since they were never consulted,” the Nongkrem legislator stated.
He also questioned the party leadership’s decision to create another post of working president without the approval of the GC.
“I do not think it is justified to create another post of working president when the post already exists,” Basaiawmoit said.
It may be mentioned that the UDP created another post of a working president to accommodate former KHNAM president Paul Lyngdoh. Bindo Mathew Lanong, who is also the president of the Shillong City unit of the UDP, also holds the post of working president.
Stating that the Central Executive Council (CEC) of the party has not met for a long time, Basaiawmoit said that he has been insisting on the need to call a meeting of the GC at the earliest since there are many pertinent issues discussed.
He was also unhappy that the party leadership has been delaying in convening meetings of both the GC and the CEC despite the urgency of the matter.
‘Still interested in contesting on UDP ticket’
Meanwhile, finally breaking his silence on the issue of whether he would contest the upcoming State Assembly election on a UDP ticket, Basaiawmoit said that he would like to contest on a UDP ticket if the party keeps its ideology intact.
“I fail to understand why the party leadership had issued a notice to me seeking clarification on whether I would be contesting from the party or not as I had never indicated that I would not contest from the party,” Basaiawmoit said on Thursday.
Commenting on the arguments doing the rounds that the notice was served on him since he had not sought the party ticket, the Nongkrem legislator stated that being a sitting legislator he did not think it necessary to seek the party ticket again.
“If I have to again seek the party ticket then why did the party leadership include my name in the first list of candidates who would contest the upcoming election?” he questioned.
“I strongly suspect that this decision to serve a notice on me is a conspiracy by some sections of the party leadership to throw me out of the party,” Basaiawmoit said, while adding, “I know there are some leaders who are not happy with my actions.”
“The main reason I associated myself with the UDP is because I believe in regionalism. But it always hurts me when I see the party not sticking to its ideology,” he added.
Meanwhile, Basaiawmoit has expressed his disappointment on the party leadership for making it public on the notice which they had issued to him.
The UDP legislator also justified his reaction against the party decision to issue him the notice, saying that the party should have kept the matter within the party level.
“I am surprised that the matter was brought to the notice of the press despite it being an internal matter of the party,” he said.