PM kept waiting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted all the Cabinet ministers to come onto the stage for pictures at the end of the swearing-in ceremony. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his two deputies Sniawbhalang Dhar and Prestone Tynsong were then sharing the stage along with the dignitaries.
When the ceremony got over, Modi was seen asking Sangma and others to bring the Ministers for photographs. It took about a minute for the message to be conveyed and the PM was seen waiting patiently on the stage. Once they came, the ceremony ended with the clicking of photos.
‘Silent’ microphone
Everything looked set for Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony organised at the spacious lawns of the Raj Bhavan until a technical glitch played spoilsport. The microphone that Conrad Sangma used for taking oath remained off throughout and as such, most people seated at a distance could barely hear him.
As soon as he finished reading out his oath, necessary arrangements were made from the sound team. The microphone now started working and the oath-taking ceremony continued as usual.
Soren happy for ‘brother’ Conrad
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Conrad Sangma, said he shares political as well as personal ties with the Sangma family.
He expressed his joy that his “younger brother” Sangma took over as the CM again. He said his happiness was more, as a tribal has achieved this success after going through a lot of struggles in life.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also congratulated Conrad Sangma on being sworn in as chief minister of Meghalaya on Tuesday.
Stalin took to Twitter to congratulate the newly sworn-in CM. “Congratulations to Thiru @SangmaConrad on being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second term. May you have a successful tenure and fulfil the aspirations of the Meghalaya people,” he tweeted.
Speaker to be elected unopposed
MDA nominee and NPP MLA from North Tura, Thomas A Sangma is expected to be elected as the Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly unopposed.
Sangma filed his nomination for the election of the Speaker before Commissioner and Secretary of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Andrew Simons here on Tuesday.
Sangma, a two-time NPP MLA, sounded optimistic that he would be elected as the Speaker of the House and expressed his gratitude to the MDA 2.0 coalition partners for putting their trust and faith in him and proposing his name for the post of Speaker.
The election, if required, will be held on March 9.
Comfortable with any role: Metbah
UDP president and former Speaker, Metbah Lyngdoh on Tuesday said he would be comfortable in taking up any responsibility in the NPP-led MDA 2.0 Government.
“I am comfortable anywhere. Wherever I am, I will work for the people,” Lyngdoh replied to a query on whether he has been offered the post of Chairman of the Meghalaya State Planning Board.
He said it was an honour for the state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the swearing-in-ceremony.
“We will need to sit with the chief minister to figure out what the focus areas are for the new government. We will also discuss how to move forward with the Common Minimum Programme,” the UDP president said.
Meanwhile, he said no decision has been taken so far on the allocation of portfolios to the cabinet ministers.
The UDP, it may be reminded, has got two cabinet berths in the new ministry led by Conrad K Sangma.
No Leader of Opposition for now
The Opposition parties — Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Voice of the People Party — will need to form an alliance to stake claim to the post of the Leader of Opposition.
As it stands, neither the Congress (5), TMC (5) nor VPP (4) can claim the post of Leader of Opposition.
“Any combination that has the support of at least 10 MLAs can claim the post of Leader of Opposition. But they will need to write to the Speaker to indicate the support of at least 10 MLAs,” a senior government official said on Tuesday.
According to the official, there will no Leader of Opposition if the three parties decide to go on their own without having an opposition alliance.