SHILLONG: Former deputy chief minister Bindo Lanong, who headed the committee on ILP appointed by then Congress led government, has revealed that the government then had rejected implementation of ILP though it was recommended by the panel.
Lanong’s reaction followed the demand of the Opposition Chief Whip, P T Sawkmie from the Congress, to convene a special session of the Assembly to discuss the ILP issue.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, Lanong said,” I would remind and urge the Congress leaders, including the Congress Chief Whip P T Sawkmie, who demanded special sitting of the State Assembly to discuss on the ILP related issue, to better ask first their own leader Mukul Sangma, why he did not implement the ILP in Meghalaya during his tenure as chief minister, when he himself was a whistle blower for curbing influx in the state and constituted the High Level Committee (HLC), where I was appointed as chairman”.
Lanong said the HLC which was notified on September 4, 2012 was given a definite time frame of two months for submission of report.
“This did raise many eyebrows, since such a vital matter was taken up in haste at the very fag end of the term”, Lanong said.
The HLC also included four cabinet ministers, Prestone Tynsong, HDR Lyngdoh, RC Laloo and Ampareen Lyngdoh, along with three CEMs of district councils , prominent civil society leaders, chiefs of traditional institutions and ten NGOs among others, all selected by Mukul himself, Lanong said.
“The HLC sat, discussed several times and simply forwarded the recommendation to the government, reflecting the voice of the majority, which was nothing less than the ILP”, Lanong said.
According to Lanong, the committee in fairness to all, also forwarded the personal views of some members, who favoured alternative views and also the memoranda from other parties.
However, when the new government was formed in February 2013 with Mukul Sangma again as the chief minister, the government introduced the Landlord and Tenancy Law in the state instead of ILP and the chief minister did not even mention anything about ILP, Lanong said.
“It is therefore not only a reminder to the many fickle minded Congress leaders about the ongoing issue which is still fresh in everyone’s mind, but why can’t they spell out for public consumption, what are the extraordinary inputs they have, warranting to convene a special session of the House”, Lanong said.
