SHILLONG: Chairman of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) PN Syiem maintained that he has to be neutral and guided by Autonomous District (AD) rules.
Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, he commented on the allegations of Deputy CEM Pyniaid Sing Syiem who had said the chairman of being impartial and undermining the capability of the executive committee (EC).
“On my part, there is nothing as such. I have to conduct in such a way that at least from the opposition and the ruling, they will be contented. If they (Executive Members) don’t do their homework and are not well guided by the rules, I have to make an appeal but not a direction,” Syiem said.
It may be mentioned that Pyniaid took offence to the statement when Syiem said the EC should come prepared instead of using the term, “require notice” often to queries posed by the opposition.
“I understood that the supplementary question is very much within the scope of the question as it is about the involvement of hima, Myntri in elections. To answer such a question, you have to study the rules of all the Hima and there is no problem. To not embarrass the House, I told the EC members to study before coming to the House which is the usual norm,” said the KHADC chairman.
He maintained that he is not rigid as a chairman.
Asked about the allegations of Pyniaid who claimed that PN Syiem aims to be CEM, PN Syiem brushed the allegations aside by stating that he is happy as a Chairman.
He said, “It is his imagination. I wanted to be the Chairman and hence I have become the Chairman. I am very much satisfied to be the chairman of the Council.” With Pyniaid having shot off a complaint to leaders of UDP, PDF and NPP, PN Syiem asserted that there has to be discussions in the Parliamentary Party (PP) of the NPP and PP of the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) in which MDC cum MLA is also the chairman.
He rued that it has bypassed the PP leadership by sending complaints against him to the political party leaders as internal matters should be discussed in the PP of the NPP.
