My suspension from VPP was ‘premeditated’, says Adelbert

SHILLONG, April 4: North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum on Friday said his suspension from the Voice of the People Party was a premeditated move by the leadership.
He told reporters action was taken against him as the leadership is unwilling to accommodate dissent within the party.
Nongrum said the decision to suspend him was made a long time ago but delayed for the fear that it might affect the party’s performance in the recently-held elections to Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council.
The North Shillong MLA said his three-year suspension was akin to his expulsion from the party.
“I had told the Central Executive Committee three times that they should expel me if they are unhappy. I made it clear that I would not accept a show cause notice or suspension,” Nongrum said.
He emphasised that his decision to join the VPP was based on principles, not for securing a party ticket.
“I clearly told the VPP leadership that I would join only if they were committed to addressing the reservation policy,” he added.
He urged the public not to be misled stating that it was the VPP leadership that broke the agreement.
“The state reservation policy is not my personal issue but it concerns the local unemployed youth,” Nongrum said.
He questioned why the VPP suggested to the Expert Committee that job reservations should be based on population demographics.
“Why didn’t the party raise the issue of academic reservation? Why didn’t they push for the roster system to be applied prospectively instead of retrospectively?” he asked.
Nongrum mentioned that he had also brought up the issue of  creamy and non-creamy layers in reservation.
“It’s not fair for my son to compete for reserved posts with children from low-income families,” he said adding he will not accept that the party’s intellectual leadership will not understand how critical this aspect is.
Stating that he cannot trust the party leadership after they broke the agreement, he asked if he had done anything to tarnish the party’s image. He criticised the leadership over how it distributed tickets for the autonomous district council elections. He alleged the leadership had acted against the party’s constitution.
“I did not violate the party’s constitution. I refrained from campaigning against party candidates even though I was dissatisfied with how tickets were allocated for Mawkhar-Pynthorumkhrah and Jaiaw constituencies,” Nongrum said.
He reminded that just a few days ahead of the polls, he had publicly declared that he and his family would vote for party candidates.
“My question is if voting for the party counts as an anti-party activity” he asked.
He said he will continue to raise issues concerning the public and make his position known on the VPP after Easter.