By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 3: The Opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) has stated that it will not write to the Assembly Speaker to request a change in the post of the Leader of the Opposition, asserting that the position should, by convention, have gone to the most senior leader, Dr Mukul Sangma.
“If one goes by the rules and procedures, it should have been the most senior in the State Assembly. When he is the most senior, he should have been appointed. Why should we write? It is the prerogative of the Speaker and by default it should have gone to Dr Mukul,” said TMC leader Fernandez Dkhar on Saturday.
Dkhar referenced a past instance when the Congress protested the appointment of a pro-tem speaker in the Lok Sabha, arguing that the appointed individual was not the most senior.
Clarifying that the TMC has no issues with the current Leader of the Opposition, Ronnie V Lyngdoh, Dkhar said, “Now, Congress and NPP are working together in KHADC also. It does not look good for the state as a whole. When in Assembly, they are leading the opposition and working hand in glove with the NPP in the KHADC, there is a compromise and even people talk about it.”
The Leader of the Opposition role is presently held by Ronnie V Lyngdoh of the Congress, but the party’s strength has decreased to four following Saleng A Sangma’s resignation after his victory in the Tura parliamentary election. The TMC has five MLAs, while the Voice of the People Party (VPP) has four.
Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma recently stated that none of the three opposition parties have submitted any representation to him requesting a change in the Leader of the Opposition or the Opposition Chief Whip in the Assembly.
The Speaker affirmed that the current arrangement would continue in the absence of any formal demand.