SHILLONG: In an irony of sorts, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said in Assembly that he may be the only homeless Chief Minister in the entire country.
Sangma made this observation in response to a call attention motion on the beautification of Tura moved by South Tura legislator John Leslee Sangma.
“When I am in Tura, I used to meet a lot of people though I have not constructed any house in Tura. I may be the only homeless Chief Minister in the entire country,” Sangma said.
It may be mentioned that though the Chief Minister claimed that he does not have a house in Tura, he has houses in Nongrim Hills and Ampati.
Moreover, the Chief Minister is currently residing at an official building worth over Rs 10 crore.
In the affidavit filed prior to the 2013 Assembly elections, Sangma, a crorepati, however stated that he owns a 1200 sq ft land for residential building at Ampati purchased in 1992 worth Rs 12 lakh and 1797 sq ft land at Guwahati worth Rs 20 lakh.
He also owns large acres of non-agricultural land used for teak and arecanut plantations worth Rs 13.5 lakh as per the affidavit.
In the Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the house at Walbakgre locality is being used as a transit point whenever he tours Garo Hills and added that it is difficult to use the house for meeting people as it has only one sitting room.
Earlier, the South Tura Legislator criticized the Chief Minister for not inviting him and other representatives under Tura during the Chief Minister’s meeting to discuss the beautification of Tura.
In reply, the Chief Minister said that the meeting in Tura was impromptu after a delegation of people from Walbakgre locality desired to meet him after submitting a memorandum to discuss various development issues.
