SHILLONG, March 12: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday asserted that the ruling dispensation has given very clear replies to all queries of the Opposition members in the Assembly.
“If you look at the replies given in the House, almost all of them are clear. Sometimes the opposition asks a question and then goes into massive details or micro details which are not always related to the primary question,” the chief minister told media persons outside the Assembly when he was alerted to the opposition claims that they were not getting clear response from the ruling side on their questions in the Assembly.
Citing an example, Sangma said, “Today one of the members wanted to know where Rs 849 crore earned as royalty on coal was spent. Now, how do I explain that all the money goes into a consolidated fund? When there is revenue flowing in from seven or eight departments we cannot track every single rupee but we can always give you the overall expenditure of everything.”
“When members ask questions like these it does get difficult but we have answered most of the basic questions,” he added.
Referring to the day’s session, Sangma said, “Today also we covered all the questions and I think the budget session has been quite productive since a lot of questions have been asked and answered and debates have been taking place.”
CM dismisses John Rambo jibe
Terming the members of his Cabinet as responsible, Sangma made it clear that as the chief minister it was his duty to always be there to clear any doubts expressed by the opposition side.
Asked for his comments on the John Rambo tag given to him by one of the Congress legislators, the CM said, “All the ministers are responsible and doing their best. But it is the responsibility of the CM to be there in case a situation arises where the honourable minister cannot reply owing to lack of information or lack of inter-department linkages.”
A Congress MLA had recently addressed the CM as John Rambo (the character played by Sylvester Stallone, where he singlehandedly takes on his enemies), accusing him of shielding his ministers from the opposition and replying on their behalf in the Assembly.
Sangma further pointed out that the Water Resources Minister had replied on his own, both yesterday and today, and most of the ministers also replied on their own on Friday.
“So it is not like what they are saying. I am always there to help as it is the responsibility of the chief minister to clear any concerns in case the questions raised the opposition members has a political undertone,” the chief minister signed off.