Tura, Jan 29: Benedic Marak, the National People’s Party MDC and MLA of Raksamgre, was on Saturday ousted as the chief executive member by a margin of two votes, paving the way for the appointment of a new CEM in his stead in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council.
Marak secured the support of 13 MDCs while 15 voted against him.
Following the development in the special session convened on Saturday, sources from the NPP confirmed that GHADC Chairman Rakesh Sangma is the most likely replacement after he resigned from the post.
Not so surprisingly, ousted CEM, Benedic Marak will once again fight for the top post with the support of the AITC MDCs and the two BJP leaders.
Benedic’s ouster comes in the wake of dissent within the NPP party ranks that sought his removal as the leader of the executive committee. As many as nine EC members had earlier resigned while the CEM himself removed three chairpersons from various positions within the GHADC. He also appointed three MDCs from the Opposition AITC to fill the positions from which the chairpersons were removed.
Benedic termed his ouster as the NPP’s action against him for his rebellion against the state leadership’s interference in the matters of the Council. He had also accused the state government of not allowing the GHADC a clear hand in approaching the Centre in an effort to get funding for the Council.
His move to pay salaries to GHADC employees prior to Christmas from a tied fund was also looked upon with derision by his own party members as they felt the move could have a detrimental effect on funds received from the Centre.
They were confident that the state government would have paid the salaries from their share of royalty if Benedic had approached them.
Meanwhile the NPP MDCs accused the former CEM of damaging the party and its image and also cited his ego in not meeting with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to find solutions to the problems in the GHADC.
Voting for the post of CEM will be undertaken on Monday with the formation of the new Executive Committee coming later.