He is pushing 80, an old warhorse who He is pushing 80, an old warhorse who has seen Meghalaya politics transform and develop since its inception in 1972, first from the HSPDP camp for about a decade, and thereafter from the Congress camp, till date.A die-hard Congressman, former deputy chief minister, Rowell Lyngdoh takes pride in having “built” the national party in West Khasi Hills during the eighties. Things have changed since. The veteran leader now believes that with the state leadership ousting him from the party last year and the MPCC dissolving the Mawkyrwat block abruptly this year, it is time to take a stand, and, in accordance with the wishes of his supporters, move over to the next best alternative, which he hints is the National People’s Party.Lyngdoh, who was with the Indian Air Force and the excise department in Assam before his debut in politics, is hurt by the “humiliation” meted out to him by the state Congress leadership, especially after working “so hard for the party for 34 years”. More so, because the leaders who ousted him from the posts he held could not justify their actions. According to his observation, “Mukul Sangma’s style of functioning is dictatorial and biased.”Age apparently is not a deterrent for Lyngdoh. The six-time Congress legislator was busy at work in his Meghalaya Secretariat office chamber on Monday afternoon after a visit to Chennai for an eye check-up last week. Saurav Bora caught up with the seasoned politician for an exclusive interview.
Here are the excerpts of the interview:
ST: You were dropped from the Mukul Sangma Cabinet last year and now the MPCC dissolved the Mawkyrwat block without your knowledge. How humiliating are these actions for a politician who has been with the Congress for almost three and half decades?
Rowell: It is humiliating…In fact, the entire block (Mawkyrwat) and its office bearers have been humiliated. It is sad because I had worked so hard to build the party in West Khasi Hills since 1983 when I joined Congress. At that time, the party could not penetrate into the six constituencies of the district. But we showed the people that we could bring development. We built roads and I took initiative as I held the PWD portfolio along with transport.
ST: What led you to lose faith in the current state leadership?
Rowell: Since 2015, we could see signs of infighting in the party and the MPCC president wanted to persuade MLAs to topple Mukul Sangma. However, in 2016, lo and behold, he abruptly sided with the chief minister, leading to suspicion in both camps (supporters of Sangma and Lapang)…Immediately after that, they simply dropped me and Mr Alexander Hek (health minister), for no fault of ours…There was no reason cited… may be because we did not side with anybody (laughs)…
ST: But you continued to be with the party?
Rowell: We did not bother since we thought the party was there to work for…However, during the fag end of 2016, they started taking all the posts we held in the party..They also dropped the president of the District Congress Committee (in South West Khasi Hills) who happened to be from my constituency and instead appointed an MDC from Ranikor as president without adhering to the party principles (as the party only appoints ad hoc presidents and it is the DCC that elects the president). The ousted president protested as there was no consultation on the matter. Subsequently, the newly appointed president complained to the MPCC against me, alleging anti-party activities, which the disciplinary action committee formed thereafter could not prove. Then, they dissolved the block itself. I think they wanted us out any way. They chased us out for no fault again.
ST: When did you decide not to contest the Assembly elections on a Congress ticket?
Rowell: After the humiliation, my supporters asked me not to contest on a Congress ticket. So I did not collect any form….But I have also made it clear that since I have been elected an MLA from the Congress, I will stay with the party till my term ends… only after that I will decide…
ST: You have been critical of chief minister Mukul Sangma’s style of functioning. Why?
Rowell: Yes, we have criticised his style of functioning… He tends to overdo things…he never consults anybody, decides all by himself and interferes in every department…The policies taken by him show that he dictates….especially during the past two years, he has been partial by taking a lot of schemes to his own district and constituency.
ST: Cabinet minister Zenith Sangma had in an interview with The Shillong Times accused leaders shifting allegiance as spineless and that they did so to seek favours from BJP. How do you react to the charge?
Rowell: I cannot comment on what he said…But I feel that I have been ill treated by my party, which I love very much…
ST: Have you chosen to join the NPP, and if so, why and when?
Rowell: We are more or less thinking on those lines…NPP is a national party that is coming up…This is not the case with regional parties that are there today but may wind up tomorrow….But having said that, I love the ideology of the Congress, which is a party founded on strong principles…NPP, NCP are like the children of Congress.
ST: How do you rate the chances of NPP in the 2018 Assembly elections and how many seats will the party win?
Rowell: From what we have seen in the last Lok Sabha by-elections for the Tura parliamentary constituency, NPP had won 23 of the 24 seats and the Congress had won only one…so the NPP is looking very strong both in Garo Hills and Khasi/Jaintia Hills….This shows that they have the support of the people who are not happy with the style of functioning of the chief minister.
About seats, I cannot predict (Smiles)…as I am still with the Congress…But from a personal point of view, I think NPP may win between 10 and 15 seats in Garo Hills.