By Our Reporter

 SHILLONG: All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) general secretary Poonam Rani Wangkhen has defended her party’s move to allot less number of tickets to women candidates in the State, saying that the tickets were awarded based on the winability prospect of a candidate.

“This is the first time that as many as six women candidates are being fielded in the election unlike previously,” Wangkhen told reporters here on Sunday.

Stressing on winability as the key factor, the AIMC general secretary said, “We don’t field candidates just like that; we keep track of their stance, their winability chances besides other factors.”

Stating that the Mahila Congress will continue to encourage womenfolk to join the political wagon, Wangkhen said, “With the 33 per cent reservation due to take full shape we hope to double the number of women candidates in the elections to come.”

The six women candidates of the Congress are Ampareen Lyngdoh from East Shillong, Roshan Warjri from North Shillong, Eureka FP Lyngdoh from Mairang, Deborah Ch Marak from Williamnagar, Dikkanchi D Shira from Mahendraganj and Arlene MN Sangma from Chokpot.

By Our Reporter

 SHILLONG: The NCP has criticized Independent candidate Sounder Cajee for his comments that he was forced to contest the election by NCP president and South Shillong constituency candidate, Sanbor Shullai.

On January 24, Cajee, while speaking at Assam Club here after the Socio Political Awareness Committee (SPAC) officially fielded him as Independent candidate, said that he was compelled to contest the elections, after Shullai forced him to join the fray.

However, in a statement issued here, the General Secretary of State NCP, Constantine N Thma, on Sunday said that Cajee’s statement has amazed them.

“How can a person be influenced by another to such an extent that one can even go to the level of contesting an election without consulting his supporters and neither taking a decision of his own,” NCP asked.

“Cajee’s statement that he had never planned to contest the election but was doing so at the sitting legislator’s insistence only shows that he does not have any spine of his own to decide for himself and therefore is not fit enough to represent the people of South Shillong constituency,” the NCP leader said.

Cajee had also said that Shullai had met him at least on four occasions asking him to contest the election. Cajee also revealed that Shullai had even announced in a public rally that he was not going to contest anymore.

However, the NCP made it clear that Shullai never contacted or had any conservation with Cajee regarding elections.

According to the NCP, if Cajee was such a loyal person, who has obeyed the directives of contesting the elections on Shullai’s request, then it would have been better if he would withdraw himself from this election because of the fact that ‘Shullai is contesting this election and is confident of retaining the seat’.

The NCP further said that the whole episode only shows that Cajee is not confident of himself and he never intended to serve the people of the constituency, but is acting on the behest of somebody else.

“How can he think of representing the people of his constituency when he cannot even make a decision on his own,” the NCP general secretary questioned.

By Our Reporter

 SHILLONG: Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma has convened a farewell Cabinet meet of the Congress-led MUA on Monday with the State going to polls on February 23.

According to sources, with the model code of conduct already in force, the Cabinet will not take any major decisions to be implemented in the poll-bound State.

The meeting scheduled at 10 am will be just a farewell meet before the ministers plunge into effective campaigning, sources said.

Saleng Sangma (Congress), who quit ministry in protest against denial of party ticket, will not be part of the last cabinet meet.

It is yet to be known whether AT Mondal who also resigned as MLA after getting the Congress ticket will take part in the meeting.

The Cabinet meet was earlier scheduled at 5 pm on Friday, but was postponed.

From Our Correspondent

TURA: A trader running a shop in Rongjeng market of East Garo Hills was arrested on Friday for allegedly working for militants of the Liberation of A’chik Elite Force (LAEF).

Acting on information about the nexus between the trader and the militants, Rongjeng Police raided the shop and home of Rajkishore Tiwari and recovered a large number of demand notes of the LAEF which was addressed to various businessmen of the area. Following the recovery of the incriminating documents, police took the trader into custody but suddenly found a strong protest against the move by other traders and civilians.

The protesters refused to accept the trader’s links with the LAEF and have demanded his unconditional release while threatening to close down the Rongjeng market for an indefinite period.

Senior officials have rushed to the spot to ease the tension.

The LAEF has been running an extortion and kidnap racket in the Rongjeng area for several years despite the killing of their leader Peter Marak by Police in 2007 inside Garo Hills under mysterious circumstances after his arrest from Jorabat area of Ri-Bhoi district.

By Our Reporter

 SHILLONG: The National Highway 62 Save Mission Committee, an organization formed recently to pursue the alleged violation of trucks carrying load beyond the permissible limit of nine metric tonne, has sought the intervention of the East Garo Hills district administration.

The Committee also threatened that it will file a case against the East Garo Hills district administration if it does not ensure strict adherence to the load limit as ordered by the Supreme Court. However, an official source said that the transport department had already been asked to adhere to the guidelines at the transport check point at Rongmil.

House maids a rare species

Every family suffers their worst nightmares during the winter months when their house maids leave on a two-month vacation. Most maids are from the Adivasi or Garo communities residing in Assam. They serve well but need their winter break as they find the months of mid December to January end too cold to bear. Life without a maid is unthinkable. They are your women Friday and they can be relied upon to cook, clean, pick up the kids from school and other chores. These maids are often eccentric and like to change homes every two years. Their mistresses are always on tenterhooks wondering if they will return after the winter break. In fact the whole business of maids has become an obsession and can give you a headache and depression because your entire life depends on them. Many women are able to go out to work because they have a dependable maid. People lose sleep agonizing over when their maids will leave them. A former vice-principal of a city based government school and an octogenarian who lost her home maid was about to get a new replacement from Guwahati. The former educationist was joyous at the news, bought a new quilt and identified a room for the “new guest” in her house. Such is the demand for house maids that this new guest had to be brought from Guwahati in a reserved tourist taxi. But as often happens the maid changed her mind at the eleventh but not before incurring a huge loss for her mistress who sent the tourist taxi all the way to Guwahati to fetch the maid. How can anyone say that there is unemployment in Meghalaya?

 Repairs and construction works galore

Call it a last minute peace-making with sulking constituents or a genuine desire to perk up the constituency but everywhere you go there is large scale repair work in localities across Shillong and beyond. Some of the new candidates have used the earthmovers (which villages happily call the JCB) to the maximum to flatten out hillocks and make roads where there were none and playgrounds (mainly football grounds) for the youth to kick around in. In certain areas of the city repairs works on some lanes have happened after nearly 20 years. They had been left in a shambles by their legislators who had served the constituencies earlier. Repair work is no violation of the Election Code of Conduct Rules. Yet where in the city will there be a new lane or footpath today? Every other one needs expansion or repair. And each of these contract works are being executed by so-called ‘contractors’ who spring up overnight and then sub-contract their work to others. The idea is to make a cut out of the work, no matter how it is executed. This is where the MLA scheme is a total waste of public money!