Budget session of State Assembly from Monday
SHILLONG: The ongoing imbroglio in the district councils will dominate the budget session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly starting from Monday.
While the KHADC led by the Opposition parties are on the verge of collapse due to the alleged interference by Congress, the six-month extension (tenure) given to the GHADC by the Congress-led MUA-II Government had come under criticism from several quarters especially the Opposition.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Opposition leader Donkupar Roy said the Opposition would raise the issue of the GHADC extension as well as the events unfolding in the KHADC in the upcoming session. The Opposition would also raise the issue of law and order situation in the state as despite the peace pact with ANVC-ANVC-B groups, there is no respite to the violent incidents in Garo Hills.
When contacted, NPP Spokesperson James Sangma said that the party would definitely raise the issue of arbitrary extension of GHADC tenure without any convincing reasons.
While the State Government claimed that the extension of six months was necessitated since the Parliament will amend the sixth schedule of the constitution in the current session to increase the seats of the councils as required by the ANVC peace pact, the NCP recently exposed that there was nothing listed in Parliament in this regard.
Sangma also said that financial mismanagement by the Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Finance which has bought misery to the State, will also be discussed in the Assembly.
Sangma said that party would also raise the issue of the killing of Sub Inspector of Patharkhmah police out post P J Marbaniang. The party also plans to raise the issue of corruption in the state.
When asked whether the duration of the session is too short, Donkupar Roy said that earlier there used to be 20- 25 members who would take part in the discussion but currently only 6- 7 members from Opposition and 4- 5 members from the Government take part in the Assembly session, hence the Business Advisory Committee has taken all these things into consideration before finalizing the business of the session.