NPP contests Govt claim on 6th Schedule amendment

SHILLONG: The justification put forward by the State government after extending the present term of GHADC is found to be misleading with the National People Party (NPP) revealing that the no proposal to amend the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution has been listed for the ongoing session of the Parliament.
Following a Cabinet meeting held on January 6 this year, the Government had justified the extension of the term of GHADC by another six months with effect from February 18 by saying that it was done after receiving an official communication from the Centre saying that the Bill seeking amendment to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution would be tabled in the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament.
The amendment was suggested by the State Government to increase the number of seats in GHADC to fulfill the demand of the ANVC-ANVC-B.
However, on Tuesday, NCP came out with a statement listing the Bills to be taken up by the Parliament during the Budget session. There is no mention about the Sixth Schedule amendment Bill.
In this context, the NCP also demanded immediate notification of elections for the GHADC stating that no amendment to the Sixth Schedule is going to take place in the next 6 months in Parliament.
NPP Spokesperson James Sangma in a statement  issued here on Tuesday said “It is very apparent that Chief Minister Mukul  Sangma  is trying to  hoodwink  people of Meghalaya by extending the term of the Congress-led Executive Committee of the GHADC through blatant lies and deception”.