SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed heated arguments between Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Opposition Leader Mukul Sangma over a resolution moved by Ampati MLA Miani D Shira to urge the Centre to restore relevant section of the Regional Rural Bank Act wherein the proficiency in local language was an essential criterion for employment in Meghalaya Rural Bank.
The argument started after the chief minister pointed out that while the present government took up the matter with the Centre through a letter written by the chief secretary, the previous government had not followed up for restoration of the original position though the Centre had amended the Act in March 2017.
Conrad said the issue should not be politicised as he does not want a blame game on the matter since the state government has already taken up the matter with the Centre.
He added that if the Opposition was so concerned over the issue, a resolution against the move by the Centre should have been passed by the previous Assembly.Later, Mukul stood up and sought the date as to when the letter was written by the chief secretary to the Union government and he was informed that it was in April this year.
The chief minister said the Opposition kept quiet when the Centre amended the new recruitment rule in March 2017.
Mukul replied that the matter was taken up by the previous government and when the Centre was not responsive, “is it not right for the state government to take up the matter aggressively”.
The chief minister complained that the Opposition leader was not allowing him to reply to the resolution resulting in exchange of words between the two.
As the mercury rose inside the House, Congress leader Charles Pyngrope came to the rescue. He stood up and advised both the leaders to calm down saying he was elder to both of them and like their big brothers.
Earlier, while replying to the motion, the chief minister had said in 2017 the central government came out with a new rule under which candidates selected to work in regional rural banks were given six months to learn the local language.
Admitting that the new rule is affecting the job prospects of local candidates, the chief minister said the decision of the Union Government was final.
He added that there was no response from the Centre on the matter of amending the rules.
Mukul also took a dig at the Centre saying its move is affecting the job prospects of tribal youths of the state and the region.
Earlier, moving the resolution, Miani Shira said the Finance Ministry had diluted the original content of the 1976 Act that led to recruitment of people with no proficiency in local languages. This not only inconvenienced the rural poor with no knowledge of other languages but also deprived local job seekers of opportunities, she added.
