SHILLONG: Despite losing power in the KHADC, HSPDP MDC Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said that foiling the State Government’s attempt to impose Administrator’s Rule in the Council was a moral victory for the ARPA.
“It is a moral victory for ARPA. We have defeated the forced attempt of the State Government to impose AR in the Council,” Basaiawmoit said while addressing the House after the election of new CEM Pynshngain N Syiem during the special session of the KHADC on Friday.
“The PDF should thank us for getting an opportunity to form the new Executive Committee through this special session which was demanded by ARPA,” Basaiawmoit said.
He said that from the very beginning, the alliance had voiced its strong opposition to this “undemocratic” decision of the Government.
According to Basaiawmoit, the Government was compelled to convene this special session since the Governor had rejected its recommendations.
Basaiawmoit takes a dig at Grace, James
While coming down heavily on the two independent MDCs (Grace Mary Kharpuri and James Sylliang) indirectly for frequently shifting their allegiance, he said that it is difficult to change certain people’s inappropriate behavior.
“But they will have to be answerable for their action in front of the public,” Basaiawmoit asserted.
Meanwhile, reacting to the statement of Sohiong MDC and District Council Affairs (DCA) Minister HDR Lyngdoh in the House urging the newly elected CEM Pynshngaiñ N Syiem to properly look after the sheep (referring to the MDCs) so that they do not run away, HSPDP MDC said that they never knew there were wolves who were out to pounce on their sheep.
“We would have been more alert if we had known about the wolves before,” Basaiawmoit said.
He also indirectly slammed the DCA Minister saying different things at the Cabinet, Assembly and Council.
In a word of caution to the newly elected CEM, the HSPDP MDC said that Syiem should take all precaution to see that he does not face the same fate as his immediate predecessors (Adelbert Nongrum and Basaiawmoit) whose EC collapsed within 6 months.
Meanwhile, UDP MDC and ARPA chairman Metbah Lyngdoh said that he is happy to see that the struggle of ARPA in opposing the imposition of Administrator’s Rule in the Council was a successful one.
“The main reason for my withdrawing from the race for the CEM’s post was to avoid causing instability in the Council,” Lyngdoh said.
Meanwhile, KHADC chairman Teilinia Thangkhiew said that the image of the Council had taken a beating in the eyes of the public owing to the frequent change of leadership in the past few months.
“I hope that we will try to again lift the image of the Council by giving priority to its interests rather than focusing on the interest of few of the MDCs,” Thangkhiew added.
