Tynsong & Dhar dropped, new faces to sworn in tomorrow

SHILLONG, AUG 3: The Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA-II) government under the leadership of chief minister Mukul Sangma has decided to induct new faces in its cabinet after two ministers were dropped.

Celestine Lyngdoh and Coming One Ymbon – who earlier held posts of parliamentary secretaries – will be sworn in as new cabinet ministers at the Raj Bhavan tomorrow.

The decision has come as big blow for a senior Congress legislator Prestone Tynsong, who was dropped as minister in – charge Public Health Engineering department.

The other fellow minister who was dropped from the Mukul’s ministry was PWD minister Sniawbhalang Dhar.

A senior Congress leader while confirming the news however refused to disclose on the ground that the two Congress legislators were made to exit from the ministry.

Earlier today, chief minister Mukul Sangma told reporters that there will be a minor reshufflingtomorrow.

“You will have one new minister tomorrow,” he said. Sources said that only Celestine Lyngdoh will be sworn in on Friday in view that the Coming One Ymbon is still being hospitalized in New Delhi.

Asked, Sangma said, “It is a question of creating new space for some of our colleagues and at the same time friends who have been in the Cabinet will then be available for the party to further work for the party because this is how democracy works.”

It may be mentioned here that rumours over a Cabinet reshuffle came following chief minister, Mukul Sangma and Meghalaya PCC president, D.D. Lapang returned to the state after discussing the political situation and party’s preparedness for the upcoming Assembly election with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

The visit of Sangma and Lapang to New Delhi was also after there have been  reports about the move of some legislators and ministers to leave the Congress and contest the upcoming Assembly poll from another party.

Earlier, reports suggested that senior Congress leader and minister, Prestone Tynsong along with his fellow minister, Sniawbhalang Dhar would leave the Congress and likely to join the National People’s Party (NPP).

While Tynsong has been viewed as “trouble maker” in the party who frequently engineered the move to topple the Mukul Sangma-led government in the past when a section of Congress legislators demanded for change of leadership, Dhar is also facing a rebellion from the Jowai Block Congress Committee, where he was accused of working against senior Congress leader and deputy chief minister, Roytre Christopher Laloo.

The block Congress had sought for Dhar removal from the Cabinet alleging him of indulging in anti-party activities for projecting his own brother-in-law to contest against Laloo from Jowai Constituency.