SHILLONG: Suspended Congress legislator, PN Syiem, said on Sunday that several attempts were made by the chief minister and some ministers to remove him as the CEM of KHADC, but in vain.
Citing the series of aborted plans to overthrow him, Syiem said before September 2015, there was an attempt by the party functionaries to convene a meeting of MDCs supporting him with an aim to topple his Executive Committee and remove him from the post of Parliamentary Party leader.
“However, out of the eleven MDCs, eight had expressed confidence in my leadership and later the remaining two MDCs too supported me,” Syiem added.
The attempt to remove Syiem did not stop here. After the failed attempt, the government brought an amendment to the dual posts Act which, according to Syiem, was to remove him from the post of CEM.
“I had raised many issues concerning the empowerment of headmen, jurisdiction of MUDA, among others, questioning the government and the amended dual posts Act was primarily intended to target me,” Syiem said.
However, the verdict of the Election Commission of India and the subsequent orders of the Governor and the High Court were in his favour.
Syiem said another attempt to remove him was his suspension, which also went against those who orchestrated it as the party lost five MDCs even as he continues to head KHADC.
Ironically, the Congress chose another Parliamentary Party leader (Manstudy Nongrem) but in vain as the attempt to rope in both Congress and non-Congress MDCs to form an EC sans Syiem did not materialise.
Syiem wondered what would be the next move of the party functionaries after the series of failed attempts to remove him.
“It is now an open secret that I was suspended in an unfair manner and with an ulterior motive to remove me from the post of CEM and not for any anti-party activities, but they should remember that people are watching them,” Syiem said.
According to Syiem, he was suspended by those who want to silence his voice of dissent as he had highlighted a new thought process of bringing in all stakeholders, including domestic workers, drivers, the teaching community and others to make a policy, which will protect their interests and set a new political agenda against the anti-people policies of the present regime that believers in old political agenda of appeasing big industrialists who enjoy all sorts of subsidies in the State.
