UDA MDCs to skip meet on Sixth Schedule amendments

SHILLONG: Former Deputy CEM of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and NPP MDC Pyniaid Syiem, who is a member of United Democratic Alliance (UDA), has said that the alliance MDCs will not attend the meeting to discuss the proposed Sixth Schedule amendments.
Speaking to a section of the press on Wednesday, he said that the UDA MDCs received a letter from the KHADC CEM Latiplang Kharkongor informing them to attend the meeting slated for Thursday to discuss the proposed amendments ahead of the scheduled arrival of chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Sixth Schedule amendment, Anand Sharma, on Saturday.
He informed that the MDCs will not attend the meeting as it has been convened by the “CEM elect” asserting that Kharkongor is not yet recognised by the state government.
He said, “As a group, we feel that the meeting called by the CEM elect is not acceptable as he has not been recognised by the government. Secondly, the UDA will not be part of the meeting as they have previously met Sharma to discuss the proposed amendment”.
He said that a delegation headed by Home Minister James Sangma met Sharma in the presence of the Executive Committee (EC) under the UDA represented by then KHADC CEM Teinwell Dkhar, nominated MDC Bindo Lanong besides himself along with other officials of the council.
He also informed that MDCs from Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) were also present at the meeting. Syiem said that an official letter on their suggestions was given to Sharma.
Cited another reason to not attend the meeting, Syiem said that the EC has passed an official resolution on the amendment of the Sixth Schedule at the winter session of the KHADC in November last year.
He recalled that the number of seats has been decided at 37 MDCs, in which 35 will be directly elected while two members will be nominated, one of whom will be a woman; there should be a condition that the MDCs should not be from unrepresented tribe.
“Most of the issues were taken up by the previous EC”, he said adding that it has already taken a decision and will stand by it.
The EC during the last winter session passed a resolution to reduce the number of seats from 40 to 37 and not to include unrepresented tribes.
Syiem had moved the resolution to reduce the number of seats while then EC member, Titos Chyne, had moved one to urge the union government to not include unrepresented tribes.