By HH Mohrmen
The state has once again witnessed political commotion as three MLAs elected from one party defected and merged with another. The defection of elected representatives from one party to another is the root cause of political uncertainty, leading to under-development in the state. This practice is barred by law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Yet, people may ask: how is it possible for elected representatives to still leave their former party and join another?
Defection is Morally Wrong
To prevent elected representatives from defecting, Parliament adopted the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. However, there is a provision in the law that allows defection if the aggrieved party can orchestrate a break of not less than one-third of the members of their party in the house. In this case, the defectors had the numbers to split their party’s presence in the august house. But are they morally right to defect to another party and abandon the party from which they were elected? Is it ethically right for them to switch sides without going back to the voters? In this case, the voters have once again been deceived by the leaders they elected to serve them, who exploited loopholes in the anti-defection law. The spirit of the law is to prevent defection, ensuring that representatives elected from a party with its own ideology do not join a party with different principles. However, this intent is being manipulated by legislators under various pretexts.
Allegation of one-sided development
The leaders claimed that they decided to defect to the party in the treasury bench under the pretext of bringing development to their constituencies. But can voters in this age and time be easily deceived? The important question is whether it is true that representatives in the house are divided and treated differently by the government. From the statements made by the defectors, one gets the impression that there are at least two grades of MLAs in the house: those of the ruling dispensation and those of the opposition, who were treated differently by the MDA government. Constituencies represented by opposition MLAs were given the short end of the stick by the government; they did not receive the development they deserved, hence the need to jump to the other side where the grass is greener. If the allegations made by the turncoat Congress members are true, then Conrad K. Sangma and the MDA government have no right to continue in power, as they have failed to uphold their oath and betrayed the people of the state.
One may also ask whether the Government of Meghalaya works only for the development of constituencies represented by members of the ruling parties or for the entire state. Can the government be selective and bring development only to the constituencies represented by members in the treasury bench? If what the defectors stated in unison—that they shifted allegiance to the ruling dispensation to bring development to their constituencies—is true, then Conrad K. Sangma and the MDA government should resign immediately because they have betrayed the Constitution and the oath they swore to serve the state without prejudice.
The Minimum Development Accomplished government
The MDA government has also failed to perform on certain very important fronts, which is evident in the substandard construction of roads. The portion of the Jowai-Shillong road from Jowai to Wahmynso was only repaired last winter, but sadly, the road is already in poor condition. Accidents have occurred, and people have lost their lives on this road as drivers try to avoid potholes. The Jowai bypass was also repaired last winter, but it did not last beyond one summer. The question that begs an answer is: what happened to the engineers who supervised the repair of these substandard roads? Why do roads constructed in Meghalaya not last beyond one summer or one rainy season?
In the same district, Ummulong PHC was upgraded to a CHC many decades ago, but it is still operating as a PHC. The staff strength remains the same, the building is the same, and nothing has changed except for its designation as a CHC instead of a PHC. If this can happen in the constituency of the Deputy Chief Minister, what do the defectors hope to achieve by joining the Minimum Development Accomplished (MDA) government?
The Promise of a C&RD Block
Reports in the press stated that certain MLAs who defected to the ruling side would be rewarded with a Community and Rural Development (C&RD) Block in their constituency. But what happened to the already established C&RD Blocks? Take the case of East Jaintia Hills: it was earlier announced that a new C&RD Block was inaugurated at Wapung, but then it was announced that a new block was commissioned at Lumchnong. The public needs to know which of these blocks is in operation. Or does East Jaintia have three blocks, including Saipung, which operates from Latyrke?
The Emergence of a Supreme Leader in the NPP
The NPP is a party of defectors, as all its leaders were earlier members of other parties particularly Congress. Even the party’s founder, PA Sangma, was initially with the Congress, then formed the NCP, and eventually ended up with the NPP. Birds of the same feather flock together; it is no surprise that it attracts defectors from other parties to its fold. Another trend that should concern party leaders is the emergence of Conrad K. Sangma as the party supremo. The recent political developments have further solidified his hold on the party. As the saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is Conrad Sangma fast becoming all-powerful in the NPP? This is a very pertinent question.
Is Conrad sidelining James Sangma by pushing his wife’s name, and not his brother’s, to contest the upcoming by-election to the Gambegre Assembly Constituency? Initially, there were reports in the media that the two siblings who lost the election were also interested in contesting the upcoming election. Agatha will be accommodated soon, as reported in the press, but Conrad instead nominated his wife, who has no experience in politics, and not his brother, to contest the election. One may also ask: Is all not well in the PA Sangma’s NPP family? No doubt, the recent developments have also diminished the influence of the Dhar family in the party, but is Conrad Sangma becoming the supremo of the party, good for the future of the party?
Another point to note is that NPP leaders from Jaintia Hills are gradually withdrawing from active politics. W R Kharlukhi and Phidalia Toi were the doyens of the party, having been with it since the time P A Sangma was active in politics. They were stalwarts and diehard party leaders who helped the party reach its current position. But why are they suddenly withdrawing from active politics?
Congress under the leadership of Pala
The final question for the Congress in this entire imbroglio is: who is responsible for these double embarrassments for the party? In the recent past, the party experienced two splits—earlier under the leadership of Mukul Sangma and Charles Pyngrope, and now with the present defection. Why is this repeated defection happening? There must be something wrong within the party; otherwise, why would the party experience similar events in every term of the House? Who is responsible for the double defections the party has experienced?
It is time for Vincent H. Pala to look inwards rather than pointing fingers at others and blaming them for the fall of the Congress in the state. The Congress still has public support, but it seems the leaders at the MPCC level are to be blame for the current faux-pas the party is facing. The Congress Party is optimistic and regaining momentum in other parts of the country. It would do well to look inwards and work to strengthen the party from the grassroots level.
Defection is because the MLAs failed to deliver
The Meghalaya State Legislative Assembly has been a playground for defection in the past as well. Many decades ago, governments in the state were toppled simply because MLAs defected from one party to another. It was only after the anti-defection law was enacted that defections in the assembly became less common. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution is meant to prevent defections but under-performing MLAs still defect from one party to another.
In a democracy, there is always a ruling party and an opposition. Even today, there are members in the opposition have not defected to the ruling dispensation. The truth is that the defectors have not performed and have failed their constituencies and are using their defection to the ruling side as a smokescreen to deceive their voters.
Politicians should not be allowed to switch parties. If they wish to do so, they should resign from their membership in the House because they have not only betrayed the party they contested from, but also the voters who elected them based on the party ticket they contested from.