Shillong, Dec 13: It’s Christmas time once more when the festive spirit the world over generally tends to overwhelm political brinkmanship, but not so in Meghalaya.
The fierce political slug-fest that has broken out between the ruling NPP and Opposition Congress over ILP, MRSSA and corruption in high places, to name a few, is unlikely to go away anytime soon. For, both the leading political forces of the state are playing the game of one-upmanship – one (NPP) for holding on to its current popularity and the other (Congress) making a desperate bid to stage a comeback.
While NPP is determined not to cede any space to its rivals, Congress is leaving no stone unturned to remain politically relevant. Indeed the stealthy moves the political masters are making on the chess board now will have their bearing on the coming election beginning with GHADC going to the polls in a few months’ time.
The on-going political posturing by both sides on the raging public issues is a pointer to the fact that the rat race has one immediate objective – try to be one up on populism. The Congress, apart from standing up for ILP, has stoked the fire of corruption and MRSSA – issues which have been grabbing eyeballs for the past few months.
Former chief minister Mukul Sangma obviously saw the door ajar for upsetting the NPP apple cart.
After the BJP orchestrated a half-hearted campaign against alleged misuse of central funds by the Autonomous District Councils, the Congress joined the chorus only to send alarm signals to the ruling dispensation which responded by applying all the tricks to stonewall the opposition from making political inroads.
The call for a central probe into some of the credible charges of diversion of funds and their misuse was craftily turned into a war of statements with the BJP state leadership, and later going for an innocuous state audit instead of a serious probe.
By refusing to take the acid test on corruption, the MDA has unwittingly reinforced the suspicion that it might not be baseless, after all. Moreover, the decision to go for holding audit for the past ten years (not just the central funds of last year) is politically loaded. For, if any skeletons stumble out, it would help square it up between NPP and Congress as the latter was at the helm prior to 2018.
At one point in time, the Congress game plan was to try to create a rift in the ruling coalition over the ticklish issue of corruption. That has not succeeded so far nor is it likely to pay any dividends in the immediate future.
The non-NPP coalition partners are comfortable with Conrad Sangma who, unlike his predecessor, is more obliging when it comes to taking care of the partner MLAs.
MDA is also fortunate that most of the MLAs constituting the coalition are first timers and hence uncomplicated. Add to it the fact that UDP, the second-largest coalition partner, is rock solid in its stand to complete the full term with NPP and BJP.
The no-confidence motion in the recent Assembly session yielded no political mileage to Congress. Despite going all out, the NPP’s one-man army Conrad Sangma remained unruffled and tried to create an impression that the Congress onslaught was more political than substantive.
It’s a different matter that Conrad Sangma cleverly parried some of the specific charges raised by the opposition MLAs. He used his survival instincts to leave the Congress without any cue. In the process, Congress has ensured that no such move will be possible in the next session due in February-March, because the House rules debar moving of no-confidence motion in the next six months. It was a gamble that Mukul Sangma took more for testing the waters than to pose any serious challenge to the MDA coalition.
Undeterred, Mukul Sangma has begun to taunt NPP for its “failure” to clinch the ILP issue.
With the Centre dragging its feet and keeping everyone guessing for over a year, his strategy is to cash in on the ILP conundrum. With no firm word emanating from Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, the Congress has upped the ante. It now has thrown its weight behind the demand for ILP. Not to be outwitted, NPP has fired a telling salvo at Mukul Sangma reminding that in 2012 when he was at the helm, he did not give credence to the report of the Lanong Committee on the tricky issue of ILP.
The embattled NPP and the Congress have since got entangled on another front -Meghalaya Residents’ Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) – which was originally legislated when Mukul Sangma was the chief minister.
The controversial bill has moved to and fro a number of times as the Centre has found constitutional and legal incongruities in it. That during the last three years Conrad Sangma has not been able to get it approved by the Centre has come in handy for the Opposition.
Last week Mukul and his brother called on Governor Satya Pal Malik and placed their cards before him. In a prompt retaliatory step, the MDA leaders were back in Raj Bhavan the next day to trump over the Congress.
Although the fate of the MRSSA still hangs in the balance, despite public posturing by political figures of all hues, it seems certain that only a diluted version of the original Bill will eventually be assented to by the President. In anticipation, the entry and exit point at Umling, which is an offshoot of the MRSSA, has been put up post haste to pander to the pressure groups which have been breathing down the neck of the ruling coalition. A diluted MRRSA will surely provide the Congress with another cannon fodder.
All said and done, the ultimate outcome of the ILP demand and MRSSA will have a major bearing on the upcoming Garo Hills ADC election. For, Mukul Sangma is likely to go all out to regain his lost territory and NPP-plus will, for sure, give it all to retain its stranglehold over the Council.
Winning the ADC election is critical for the next general election due in another two year’s time.
Meanwhile, the state can only brace for more fireworks in the new year, even while the pandemic takes its toll on the state’s resources and the focus should have been on tackling this health emergency rather than playing political mind-games.