SHILLONG: Since assuming office in 2013, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma is yet to get proper and regular audience to discuss political and development issues concerning the state with two important national leaders in Delhi. His own party leader, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are yet to give time to the Chief Minister to discuss the issues concerning Meghalaya.
Sources said that the Chief Minister is apparently not in the good books of AICC top functionaries as is evident from the stand of Congress president Gandhi who has not shown any keen interest in meeting the Chief Minister in Delhi.
The style and functioning of the Chief Minister was earlier flagged before the AICC leaders in Delhi by the Congress legislators and party leaders.
Congress party sources said on Saturday that after the issue of dual post cropped up, while KHADC Chief Executive Member PN Syiem met the Congress president and vice president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi in December, the Chief Minister could not meet the AICC leaders to deliberate on the matter.
Prior to Syiem’s meeting with the Congress President, MPCC president DD Lapang also met her and other leaders to discuss the political situation in the state.
Recently Deputy Chief Minister Rowell Lyngdoh met the Congress president and expressed displeasure over the disunity in the party in the wake of stand- off between Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and the KHADC CEM over the dual post Bill and other issues concerning the empowerment of traditional institutions.
Party sources also said that while the Congress leadership in Delhi has not summoned the Chief Minister to solve the stand-off between him and the KHADC CEM, Sangma himself is yet to take any initiative to meet the Congress president and others in order to find a lasting solution to the recurring problem.
A Congress party functionary said that there are certain Congress leaders from the state including Shillong MP Vincent Pala, former chief minister SC Marak, MPCC president DD Lapang and MPCC working president Deborah Marak among others who have better access to Sonia Gandhi as compared to the Chief Minister.
Adding to the trouble, the criticism leveled against Prime Minister Modi by the Chief Minister prior to the Lok Sabha polls cost Meghalaya dearly in terms of development schemes. After the Lok Sabha polls, other than meeting the Prime Minister during some functions and a courtesy call, there was no serious meeting between Mukul Sangma and Modi to discuss issues concerning the state.
In comparison Sangma’s counterparts like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and chief ministers of other non-BJP ruled states, irrespective of their party affiliations, had extensive meetings with the Prime Minister thereby securing many development projects.
In the early part of January 2014, during an NRI meeting in Delhi, Sangma had criticized the then Prime Ministerial candidate Modi by stating that better days would come for the country because strong foundation has been laid by the UPA leadership.
Later, the Chief Minister said in Shillong that the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate would never become the Prime Minister because of his fundamentalist background, and added that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi would make it.
A senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity said that it is time for the Chief Minister to forget the differences and seek development schemes from the Centre after having proper meeting with the Prime Minister so as to accelerate development in the state which is currently under financial crisis.
