Meghalaya’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) unit on Friday demanded that governor R.S.Mooshahary recommend imposition of president’s rule in the state, claiming the constitutional machinery has collapsed.
The governor rejected the demand. leader of Opposition in the Assembly Conrad K. Sangma demanded that Article 356 be invoked and president's rule be imposed for the larger interest of the state.
“I have apprised the governor of the overall prevailing political situation which has brought the functioning of the government to a grinding halt,” Conrad Sangma told journalists after his meeting with the governor. Mooshahary, however, told Sangma that there is no question of imposing president’s rule in the state as the ruling Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance coalition government still enjoys the majority in the assembly. However, Sangma stuck to his stand.
“The chief minister (Mukul Sangma) has not been able to hold cabinet meetings for more than two months and departments are not functioning since ministers and the chief minister himself are out of office most of the time,” he added. Asked if it was proper for the NCP to meddle into the internal affairs of the Congress, Sangma said: “It is their (Congress) internal affair but the people don’t deserve this kind of a situation (collapse of constitutional machinery). I think they should resolve their issue at the earliest and whoever has the majority should lead.”
He denied the NCP is trying to form an alternative government. “The NCP is playing a constructive role in the opposition. We are not here (Raj Bhavan) to find out new permutation and combination or to destabilise anybody, but what we want is to ensure good governance,” he said. Sangma’s meeting with Mooshahary assumed significance as a day earlier deputy chief minister Rowell Lyngdoh claimed that the chief minister has lost the support of a majority of the 28 Congress legislators. Lyngdoh had on Thursday publicly announced that 18 of the 28 Congress legislators in the 60-member Assembly have demanded Mukul Sangma’s removal over his autocratic style of functioning.
The rebel Congress members are believed to be pitching for Mukul Sangma’s predecessor D.D. Lapang to return as the chief minister. Lyngdoh said the chief minister should immediately convene a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting to resolve the leadership issue. Meanwhile, Lapang also rushed to New Delhi on Friday morning for talks with the party leadership. Mukul Sangma is already camping in New Delhi. Meghalaya has seen nine governments with varied combinations, resulting in eight chief ministers between 1998 and 2009. Since Meghalaya attained statehood in 1972, only two chief ministers have completed their full five-year terms.