SHILLONG: UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh on Friday took a dig at the cabinet ministers of the MUA-II Government, terming them as ‘muster rolls’.
“The cabinet ministers do not have any authority to take their own decisions. They have to act as per the directives of the Chief Minister. The status of the ministers in the present Cabinet is no better than the muster rolls,” Lyngdoh said while speaking at the UDP East Khasi Hills district general council meeting here on Friday.
The UDP working president minced no words in attacking Home Minister Roshan Warjri, claiming that the Home Minister does not have the authority to announce ex-gratia payment for the five policemen who were killed by suspected GNLA militants on Tuesday.
“As a cover up, she (Warjri) had to state to the media that they are still preparing the proposal. But the fact is that Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma is not in town. The Home Minister would announce the ex-gratia only after the Chief Minister has fixed the amount,” Lyngdoh said.
Stating that there is ‘no collective responsibility’ in the present Cabinet, Lyngdoh said that the show ‘is being run by one man’.
Lyngdoh also claimed that the Congress party was undemocratic and lacked transparency.
The UDP working president recalled that the Congress party had sent an observer from Delhi during the leadership tussle between DD Lapang and JD Rymbai.
“The Congress MLAs were to vote for either Lapang or Rymbai. The observer had carried the box containing the votes to Delhi for counting.
“Till date, no one knows how many votes Lapang or Rymbai secured since the votes were never counted. I have been told that the observer had left the box in the aircraft itself. This proves that the whole exercise was a joke,” Lyngdoh stated.
Lyngdoh also lamented that even after 41 years of Statehood Meghalaya is being ruled by MLAs and MDCs who are dancing to the tunes of the High Command in Delhi.
“The fate of the State is decided by the people from Delhi who have no knowledge about the problems and difficulties faced by the people in Sohra or Shella. These leaders would get lost if we put them at Khyndailad on their own. We need to put an end to this trend,” Lyngdoh said, while pointing to the need for electing MLAs and MDCs who can formulate laws and policies without waiting for directives from Delhi.
Meanwhile, UDP president Dr Donkupar Roy said that the upcoming District Council and Lok Sabha elections were very important for the party.
“I fully agree to the argument that a political party who does not have any MLAs and MDCs is equivalent to NGOs and pressure groups. Therefore, the party workers have to work hard to ensure UDP victory in both the elections,” Dr Roy said.