GHADC dy chairman cites reason for non-partisan stand

TURA/SHILLONG: GHADC deputy chairman and NPP MDC, Mettrinson G Momin, said on Wednesday that he could not take action against the five defectors as the complainants could not attach documents to substantiate the claim.
Prior to the election of the CEM on Tuesday, the NPP-GNC-BJP coalition submitted a letter seeking suspension of five members – Wennison Ch Marak and Jimberth Goera R Marak (both GNC), Congress MDCs Ismail Marak and Dhormonath Sangma, and independent Righteous Sangma who joined BJP.
The deputy chairman, however, said on Wednesday that the complaint letter had referred to the GHADC Rule No 17 (1) (f) of the Assam and Meghalaya District Council Rules, which deals with the disqualification of those convicted by a court.
“After admitting their petition, I wanted proof regarding the conviction against these five MDCs, but nobody provided any evidence. If relevant documents were submitted, I would have suspended the five members and referred the proof to the Governor,” Momin said.
The deputy chairman clarified that the petition suffered from lack of supporting documents and hence it was rejected.
“I went by the rule and I want to clarify this to avoid any ill feeling from any quarters,” Momin said.
Giving consent to the petition by the NPP to suspend the voting rights of the five rebel MDCs would have pushed the Congress into a minority paving the way for the NPP alliance to return to power in the GHADC.
According to Momin, he cannot disqualify or suspend the voting rights of the five members since the rule does not permit any action.
“If I had suspended the members, I would have faced action from the Governor or the five MDCs as there is no proof of conviction against them since the complaint letter is based only on the rule related to conviction of a member by any court of law,” Momin added. Moreover, the anti-defection law does not apply in the district councils, he said.