By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Senior Congress member Rowell Lyngdoh was administered oath as the Pro tem Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.
He was administered oath by Governor RS Mooshahary in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma and other Congress leaders.
The appointment of the Pro tem Speaker is to facilitate the oath taking ceremony of all the 60 elected members of the ninth Legislative Assembly on Thursday at 10 am at the temporary Assembly building at Rilbong.
Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma will leave for the national capital on Thursday to get the list of Cabinet ministers approved by the Congress high command.
AICC general secretary in charge of Meghalaya, Mukul Wasnik, and other AICC leaders will go through the list after Dr Sangma’s arrival in the national capital on Thursday night.
A meeting with Sonia Gandhi or her approval is expected only on Friday.
Incidentally, Governor RS Mooshahary is also leaving for Delhi on Thursday.
MPCC seeks cooperation of elected party MLAs
The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Wednesday held a meeting with the all the 29 legislators and sought their cooperation for speedy development of the State.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, MPCC president DD Lapang said, “Our determination is to stick to the commitments made in the manifesto, the result of which will be seen after five years.”
The meeting also dwelt on the strategies for the upcoming District Council and Lok Sabha elections while expressing its happiness over the election of Dr Mukul Sangma as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
Asserting that the swearing-in ceremony of the Cabinet will be held next week, Lapang said the decision on the composition of the Cabinet and appointment of a full-fledged Speaker is the prerogative of the CLP. Lapang, however, refused to reveal the name(s) being considered for the Speaker’s post.
The former Chief Minister, while stating that it would be difficult to satisfy all the 29 legislators by giving them Cabinet berths, made it clear that there was no ‘pushing’ by any of the MLAs for a Cabinet berth.
“The Congress will remain happy and disciplined despite the fact that all MLAs will not get Cabinet berths,” he added.
