SHILLONG, Feb 1: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Saturday asked cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh to apologise unconditionally for misleading the people on Article 371 of the Constitution of India.
The party also reminded the minister of his demand during the Ksan Rngiew Movement in the early 2000s that Article 371 should be as applicable in Meghalaya as it is in Mizoram.
The United Democratic Party has been criticising the VPP for advocating the implementation of Article 371 in Meghalaya. Lyngdoh, a UDP leader, stated that Article 371 and the Sixth Schedule are mutually exclusive.
Meghalaya is a Sixth Schedule state.
“Wherever Article 371 is in place, there are no Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), and wherever there are ADCs, Article 371 does not apply. It is as clear as daylight, yet some individuals are misleading the public— perhaps because they are confused,” the minister said on Friday.
Reacting to the statement on Saturday, VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said: “If Article 371 cannot be applied to Meghalaya, he (Lyngdoh) should apologise to the people for misleading them in 2004 with a similar demand.”
Lyngdoh was then leading the Khasi Students’ Union as its president. “Our stance remains the same. We are not as fickle as they are and we stand our ground. We are least bothered by what others are saying because we know what we are saying,” Myrboh said.
