Conrad all set to be sworn in as CM on March 7

SHILLONG, MAR 4: NPP national president Conrad K Sangma is all set to be sworn in as chief minister on March 7.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to attend the swearing-in-ceremony of council of ministers to be held at the Raj Bhavan.

Sangma has the support of 32 MLAs of which 26 are NPP, 2 BJP, 2 HSPDP and 2 Independents. However, the name of the alliance is yet to be decided.

Senior legislator from Resubelpara Timothy D Shira was sworn in as Protem Speaker by the Governor Phagu Chauhan at the Raj Bhavan. The oath taking ceremony for the 59 newly elected MLAs will be held at the Assembly on March 6.

Speaking to reporters, Conrad K Sangma said, “I have received the letter from the Governor inviting me to form the government and the swearing in ceremony of the entire cabinet will be held on March 7, here in the Raj Bhavan. We are expecting the Prime Minister and the Home Minister and other leaders to attend the swearing in ceremony.”

He informed that all steps have been taken to ensure that law and order is not a concern during the swearing-in-ceremony after there was opposition against the support extended by the two MLAs of the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP).

However, the leadership of the HSPDP had on Friday submitted a letter to withdraw support to the NPP.

On this, Sangma however said, “That is the political party which has sent the letter but it is the parliamentary party and the legislative party which is the main signature support and both MLAs have submitted their support to us.”

He said that the name of the alliance and other things will be decided as soon as they sit for a meeting.

Sangma also informed that the NPP is also in discussion with other political parties. “But the details of that cannot be disclosed as of now but political parties have contacted us,” he added.

Terming the arson incident at the office of the HSPDP MLA at Laitumkhrah as unfortunate, the NPP chief said, “It is very sad to see that this is the kind of behaviour we are seeing which Meghalaya has never seen before. Meghalaya has always believed in democracy. We have always accepted the mandate of the people and this election has given the mandate and the people have elected representatives and based on a democratic process this government is being formed.”

He added, “Now coming out and creating this kind of violence has never been seen in Meghalaya and I am sure the people of Meghalaya are not with this kind of behaviour that we are seeing and this is something that is unacceptable.”

Commenting on the protest by the NGOs against the support extended by the HSPDP MLAs, Sangma said, “The MLAs have been elected by the people of the constituency and hence it is the mandate of the people and therefore the MLAs will decide who they want to support. So NGOs may have their own concerns and other issues but that is separate from the election mandate.”

He said permission has been denied for different meetings since the election is over.

“The mandate has been given and this is not the time to have rallies about all these things. Therefore, it is a clear indication that these kinds of activities taking place by these individuals are at a personal level,” he said.

When asked, Sangma said, “What you said is absolutely correct. There is a way and a process in which a government is elected. It is being done for decades in our state and for many decades throughout the country and throughout the world. Therefore, if there was anything that has to be said, it should have been said during the election time that is when the campaign takes place, that is when you hold the rallies. But once the mandate is given, the people of Meghalaya and the people of the country have always accepted whatever mandate is given and accordingly we should move forward. Therefore this kind of problem we are facing has been something that is unacceptable and Meghalaya has never seen and it is very sad, very unfortunate.”

On the demand for a Khasi chief minister, the NPP chief said there is a procedure in which a government is formed and a chief minister is elected and that has been followed. “Therefore, yes sentiments are always there but ultimately the process has been defined there. It is not about whether a person individually from a particular community has to be there or does not or should not be there. That is not how democracy works. It is based on the mandate which is given by the people and it is based on that mandate elected members are elected and elected members then elected their leaders. So that process has been followed so the issue is something that yes sentiments are there but ultimately it is the mandate of the people and which we all should accept.”

Asked how he will ensure the government is stable with 32 MLAs, Sangma said, “It all depends on how we work. We have seen the last five years we face a large number of challenges and yet by ensuring that there was good teamwork, by ensuring that we gave everybody the space and motivated everybody and gave a lot of stress on development, all these aspects helped us to make sure that we were able to take and survived and run the government for five years in spite of having large number of political parties.”

“So it is always challenging to run the coalition government but we will do our best to ensure that all the partners are given the space and ensure that there are lots of consultancies taking place when we are taking important discussions and carrying the team along with us,” he asserted.

By Our Reporter