Congress to drag three ‘defector’ MLAs to court

SHILLONG, Sep 13: The state Congress has initiated the process of filing a case in the High Court of Meghalaya against three former party MLAs — Celestine Lyngdoh, Gabriel Wahlang and Charles Marngar — who joined the NPP in August.
“We have already suspended them and you will come to know about some more action against them in due course,” Congress general secretary in charge of Meghalaya, A. Chella Kumar said on Friday.
Speaking to The Shillong Times over the phone, he refused to comment on the fate of MPCC chief Vincent H Pala, whose three-year term ended in August.
Pala was appointed as the Meghalaya Congress president in August 2021.
Kumar declined to comment when asked if the AICC is looking to replace Pala as the MPCC chief.
He, however, said the AICC wants to strengthen the party organisation in Meghalaya.
He admitted the party has lost several prominent leaders and MLAs during Pala’s term but refused to say anything more. “I will answer all questions after visiting Shillong,” he said.
Pala did not respond to queries on whether he is under pressure to step down owning moral responsibility for a series of setbacks for the party.
Once a powerhouse in Meghalaya, Congress is going through its worst phase. The slide, party insiders said, started when Pala took charge as the state unit president.
The party lost 12 of its MLAs, including former chief minister Mukul Sangma, when they merged with the Trinamool Congress in November 2021. The remaining five MLAs quit and joined other parties ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
These five, including Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, were suspended for extending support to the NPP-led MDA government.
After the Assembly elections, many Congress MDCs in the KHADC left the party and joined the NPP. The final nail in the coffin was hammered by three MLAs when they joined the NPP recently.
Congress now has Ronnie V Lyngdoh as the sole MLA.
Requesting anonymity, a section of Congress leaders said the MPCC chief should have stepped down immediately after the three MLAs joined the NPP.