From CK Nayak
New Delhi, Feb 25: The upcoming new Assembly building will not just be a new landmark structure of the hill state.
It will ultimately take the place of the 125-year-old iconic structure that housed the Legislative Assembly of undivided Assam until it was gutted in a devastating fire in 2001. The historic structure, constructed of pine wood way back in 1874 was the Assembly building of undivided Assam and subsequently Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram which were carved out of it.
Meghalaya is without a permanent state assembly building after the British-era building was destroyed. Since then, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly functioned in the State Central Library auditorium and subsequently, it shifted to a cultural complex in Rilbong.
“The fire was smoldering and the entire skyline of Shillong has turned red,” former Meghalaya Chief Minister SC Marak said four hours after the blaze started in the evening. “The Meghalaya Assembly has certain emotional values and historical significance to all the people of the Northeastern region, particularly the politicians,” he added.
(L) Sarat Chandra Sinha, former CM of Assam was crying on the fateful day. Sinha was among hundreds of politicians who attended the Assembly sessions in what was then the undivided Northeast with Shillong as its capital, in 1946, before the country gained independence. Echoing the sentiments, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who inspected the new Assembly construction site on Thursday, said “Friends, our representative institutions such as the Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and the local bodies are the temples of democracy, where public representatives give voice to the hopes and aspirations of the people. Hence, it is important for all the democratic institutions – the Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and local bodies, be it in the form of Autonomous District Councils or Panchayats, to work in coordination and harmony so that our collective responsibility towards the people is fulfilled.”
Parliament had passed the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act in 1969, which led to the establishment of an autonomous state of Meghalaya within Assam in 1970. A legislature of 37 members for the new autonomous state was established, with representatives elected indirectly by the autonomous direct councils.
Parliament passed the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, which converted Meghalaya from an autonomous state within Assam to a full member state of the Indian Union on 21 January 1972. The unicameral Legislative Assembly was then reconstituted as a directly elected body.
Many legendary leaders like (L) Purno A Sangma (himself a former Lok Sabha Speaker), (L) PR Kyndiah (former Union Minister) and (L) GG Swell (former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker) were members of the Meghalaya Assembly on more than one occasion.
Purno used to regale the Lutyens politicians and media with many interesting events in the Meghalaya Assembly during his long carrier in the state polities.
Once, one presiding Chairman gave a ruling while he was lying on the floor during a melee, a normal scene those times. This is perhaps the only case in the history of the country when a presiding Chairman gave a ruling in a sleeping position. He raised his hands while sleeping flat on the podium and said “I now declare the House adjourned.”