From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Legislatures from Meghalaya might have been criticized in the State for frequent foreign tours at the expenses of the public, but they have earned laurels from Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for their good conduct during their meeting with her in Parliament on Monday.
“You should be the model for our unruly legislators elsewhere,” said the hassled Speaker to the Meghalaya MLAs after having failed to run the Parliament for days since it reassembled after recess.
“I was mesmerized by your beautiful State when I visited Shillong in 2010 and now I admire you for your good manners and patient listening cutting across party lines,” she added.
The Speaker also lauded the unique matrilineal culture of Meghalaya and noted that for the first time so many women have been elected to the Assembly even without the women reservation system.
At this point Meghalaya Assembly Speaker AT Mondal pointed out that for the first time as many as four women were elected to the Assembly and out of them three have been made Ministers.
Most of the legislators, who were part of the visiting delegation, are first timers, Mondal said.
“Though Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma could not attend the meeting, his better half is present here,” Mondal said in a jocular vain pointing out at Dikkanchi D Shira, a first timer. Some of the legislators including James Sangma, Ampareen Lyngdoh, A L Hek and even Mondal himself participated in a question answer session with the Lok Sabha Speaker.
The State legislators were pained at the continued disruption of the Parliament when they were watching the proceedings from the visitors’ gallery on Monday morning.