KHADC summer session 2025
SHILLONG, July 1: District Council Affairs Minister Prestone Tynsong has come down heavily on the Voice of the People Party-led Executive Committee (EC) for what he termed as a “bad precedence” in the manner it conducted the Summer Session of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).
Asserting that the procedural lapses be corrected immediately, Tynsong on Tuesday disclosed that eleven Members of District Council (MDCs) had brought the issue to his notice, particularly regarding the unusual call for a vote immediately after the budget was tabled recently.
“I think it is also a very unprecedented conduct because when you do the presentation of the budget, the question of voting does not arise. But on that particular day, I don’t know wrongly or what, but the chairman, when the presentation of the budget was completed, called the House for voting, which is totally wrong and very much unprecedented,” the DCA minister said.
Suggesting KHADC Chairman Strong Pillar Kharjana to “do his homework”, Tynsong reminded the council leaders that the House must adhere to the Assam-Meghalaya Autonomous District (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951.
“When he conducts the business of the House, it should be done as per the rules, as they have the AD rules, and they can even refer to the rules and procedures of business of the Assembly or the Parliament,” he emphasised.
Asked whether he plans to write formally to the Chairman, Tynsong indicated that corrective action should first arise from within the KHADC itself.
“Not necessarily. Ultimately, the members of the District Council from both sides, treasury and opposition, need to discuss this,” he said, stressing that both benches share responsibility for upholding procedure.
The deputy chief minister also warned that allowing such anomalies to stand could ripple through future council sessions.
“I don’t think we need to create such bad precedence. In the future, I think the next generation may also follow those things that have happened wrongly, which is bad. I think it is their duty to understand their responsibility on how to behave as members of the House,” he added.