SHILLONG: Congress MDC Ronnie Lyngdoh brought about an analogy between coronavirus (COVID-19) and the political drama in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) terming the constant political changes in the council as “political virus”.
It may be mentioned that the council has seen political changes from time to time with no Executive Committee (EC) of the KHADC working to its full term of five years with several MDCs conspiring to oust the EC in one way or the other.
Speaking at the discussion during the no-confidence motion, Ronnie said that people should not be scared of coronavirus but people should be cautious of “political virus” which is contagious. Not sparing the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said that political virus crept in from Delhi, and said, “On which side of the aisle are you? If you are on the government’s aisle, then shifting of allegiance is alright, but if you are on the wrong side of the aisle, which is against the government, then shifting of allegiance is not allowed”.
He added that people are wary of the constant drama in the KHADC following the collapse of one EC to the other and has urged the concerned authorities to administer as per rules.
On the other hand, Lyngdoh said that the session was convened at a time when the state is making efforts to prevent the possible outbreak of coronavirus.
In a sarcastic tone, he said, “But what can we do? It seems other things are more important than the lives of MDCs and staff. Had the session been conducted on March 17, the fear of staff and others not getting their salary would not exist. Had the budget session been passed on March 17, it would have been different and we could have been sitting in our homes”.
While asserting that the KHADC chairman has taken the responsibility to have sanitisers available, he questioned whether the staff will get the facility available or not. “If the staff or any one of us gets affected, who will take the responsibility? That I leave it to you, chairman, sir,” he said.
Lyngdoh argued that the EC of the United Democratic Front (UDF) has not been able to work as the state government and the governor did not allow the committee to function.
He said that legal experts and intellectuals say that slowly and swiftly we are heading towards authoritarianism.
He questioned as to why is Administrator’s Rule not imposed in Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) despite the EC there functioning with the strength of 15 MDCs.
Stating that the government is applying a different yardstick, Lyngdoh said, “In the GHADC, which has 30 MDCs, the EC has strength of 15, the question is why not impose administrator’s rule in GHADC? It means that they are on the side of the government. Where then is the democracy?”