SHILLONG: “I do not need any certificate from Dr Mukul Sangma for the work I have done,” said UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh.
“It is the job of historians and political analyst to assess the work I have done. Why should I need a certificate from the Chief Minister who is my contemporary in politics,” Lyngdoh said while addressing newsmen here on Sunday.
The UDP leader was reacting to Dr Sangma’s recent statement where he had said Lyngdoh had never campaigned for ILP when he was in the government.
Stating that it is natural for UDP to react on issues since it is the government’s political rival, Paul advised Dr Sangma to be more careful about his enemies from within his party’ instead of focusing too much on his ‘political rivals’.
Lyngdoh reminded that it was during his tenure as chairman of the cabinet sub-committee on influx in 2004 that a decision was taken to amend the rules of the Inter-State Workmen Migrant Act, 1979 to check inflow of migrant labourers.
He said the State cabinet in 2008 had approved the amendment to the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Regulation Act, 1979 (amended in 1985), to give more powers to the law-enforcing agencies to check influx and regulate employment of migrants in the state.
The Cabinet Committee on Influx led by him had also proposed to earmark an amount of around Rs 3 crore to implement work permit system, he said adding if the same was implemented half of the problem that the state was facing now would have been solved.
“The rules say a person residing anywhere in India for six months is entitled to voting rights. The work permit proposed by Meghalaya will have been valid only for 179 days and needed to be renewed after this period, which will prevent a labourer to become a permanent resident of the state or give them the right to vote,” Lyngdoh said.
At the time when he was in charge of the Labour department, decisions were taken to strengthen the labour department by purchasing vehicles for labour inspectors, and sanctioning for the post of more labour inspectors, he added.