SHILLONG: The National People’s Party (NPP) has claimed that it has the required number of MDCs who would support the next executive committee in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
NPP’s claim for number comes at a time when its suspended leader Boston Marak is boasting of forming the Executive Committee with his strength of 15 MDCs.
Referring to this, NPP leader James Sangma said on Saturday that Marak and the Congress’s claims are despite the fact that the people of Garo Hills had given a clear mandate to non-Congress parties for formation of the GHADC executive committee.
“This is a very desperate attempt on their part against people’s mandate,” Sangma said.
The District Council has been under administrator’s rule since the collapse of the NPP-led alliance in March following defections from within its ranks led by the chairman himself.
Along with Boston, four other MDCs – Winnison Marak of GNC, Dhormonath Sangma, who won from a Congress ticket but switched over to NPP, Ismail Marak (Congress MDC who joined BJP) and Righteous Marak – from the ruling alliance joined the opposition ranks.
Meanwhile, after resigning from the post of GHADC chairman, suspended NPP member Boston Marak and his group of 15 MDCs are camping in Shillong waiting for the announcement of date for the election of new CEM.
Boston said his group is intact and will form the next Executive Committee as and when the date for the election is announced.
Sources said the next process is that the resignation letter of Boston submitted to the deputy chairman of GHADC will be forwarded to the District Council Affairs Department, which in turn will be sent to the Governor along with the files related to the matter for withdrawal of administrator’s rule and subsequent fixing of date for the election.
When contacted, District Council Affairs Minister Prestone Tynsong said the Government will process the matter on Monday.
Earlier, the Governor had rejected the Cabinet’s recommendation to withdraw administrator’s rule that was based on the majority claim of Boston.
However, the Governor’s stand was that Boston should first quit the post of chairman to pave way for the withdrawal of administrator’s rule and the subsequent election of the CEM.
Later, though the Government had consulted legal experts, it had no other option but to follow the Governor’s stand that ultimately resulted in the resignation of Boston.
