It is normal to speak well of the dead. But Robert G Lyngdoh, Meghalaya’s former no-nonsense Home Minister serves as a role model of an uncompromising politician who never shirked from boldly calling a spade by its name. He held the Home Portfolio at a time when Meghalaya was battling insurgency and the State was then passing through a hard time with life coming to a halt at sundown. There was not a soul when the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) would call a bandh on the two national days – Independence Day and Republic Day. But RG would, with a band of faithful followers trudge down to Polo Ground for the parade and walk back home, unafraid of the consequences. In so doing he demonstrated courage in the face of danger because the HNLC then comprised trigger happy rebels.
He was the only Home Minister who appointed a State level Police Reforms Committee headed by former DGP, IT Longkumer. The Committee gave a detailed set of recommendations and these would have served the Police Department in good stead had they been implemented. But as things stand nothing good is ever adopted in Meghalaya especially when it means investing money for the right reasons. RG was one politician who was vocal about the misuse of the MLA Scheme and felt that it had become a ploy for politicians to spend the money on the fifth year of their tenure to win acolytes and buy votes. In fact, RG was very critical about how politicians running the Government would put a spanner in the works when it came to sanctioning schemes for those in the Opposition camp unless they agreed to join or support the ruling party. In his own words, “There is an ethical question whether development schemes can be used for political gains.” RG was also critical of those who blamed the Conrad Sangma Government for all the ills such as illegal trading of coal and the power projects that were non-starters which he says were legacies from the past.
RG Lyngdoh meant well but in a world of murky politics, he became isolated as he did not play along. He had the courage of conviction not to yield to demands for freebies especially before elections, saying that these demands were the basis for corruption not just of politicians but the bureaucracy too for no politician would give out freebies from his own pocket. Every penny doled out to the constituents for their irrational demands would have to come from the public exchequer but by using the wrong means. These harsh decisions had made him unpopular among those that expected politicians to bend the rules to placate their constituents. Perhaps RG was too straightforward for the crooked politics of Meghalaya but he lived life on his own terms and never regretted a single moment.
