SHILLONG, Jan 2: Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh on Sunday said he took the decision to recognise the merger of 12 Congress MLAs with the All India Congress Committee (AITC) after studying the legal provisions.
Congress had 17 MLAs before the merger.
“The merger fulfilled the criteria laid down in the Tenth Schedule. I made my decision as per the merit of the case,” he said in reaction to state Congress president Vincent H Pala’s statement that recognising the merger was not legal.
According to Pala, the 12 MLAs did not follow the rules by merging with the AITC without first forming a state unit as a separate entity.
The Speaker did not find any merit in the petition filed by Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh seeking the disqualification of the 12 MLAs.
He said he was ready to face judicial scrutiny if the state Congress decides to challenge the recognition of the merger in the court.
Asked if the AITC would now be recognised as the main opposition, the Speaker said: “The AITC has more members than Congress.”
Pala had earlier said, “The 12 MLAs had the requisite two-thirds majority for the merger as per the provisions laid down in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. But why they did not form the state unit before the merger?”
Pala said the party leadership will soon meet to discuss the Speaker’s ruling and finalise their next course of action. The party deferred the discussion due to the Christmas and New Year holidays.