FROM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG, Dec 6: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma mocked at Congone Ymbon, the legislator who recently resigned from the Cabinet and five other congress MLAs who have shifted their allegiance after the last session of the State Assembly scheduled from Friday.
Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of an official function held at Shillong on Wednesday where his reaction was sought on the allegations that he worked in an autocratic manner, an irate Chief Minister instead ridiculed the resigned minister. It is to be noted that Ymbon had tendered his resigtion on the ground that all decisions pertaining to his department were taken unilaterally by the Chief Minister and without holding any discussions with him. On this Mukul Sangma hit back saying, “When Ministers are not in station. It is a usual procedure that files of urgent ture are taken care of by the CM. If you are a Minister and you are not available, the decision cannot wait.”
Taking further pot shots at Comingone Ymbon who held the power department portfolio till three days ago, Mukul Sangma said, “A Power Minister talking about the Chief Minister intervening on the power sector. What is the situation of power sector now? Is it not bleeding? Didn’t the Government not paid money when the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeCL) required money and the Minister was not there. Should I not call a meeting?”
“How much money is being paid as interest on a daily basis due to preventable delay in taking some decisions,” he quipped. The Chief Minister questioned the performance of his past cabinet colleagues.
“The post of a Minister is quite a responsible one. It is not a post for someone to shuttle between Shillong and Kolkata. File an RTI on these Ministers travelling schedule. How many of them have been travelling between these places? What job do they have in Kolkata?” posed Sangma while listing out the former cabinet Minister, Prestone Tynsong (scheduled to join the NPP) as one of those whose me figures in the frequent Shillong-Kolkata flight list.
Moreover, the Chief Minister insinuated that he along with his party were aware of the bad apples in the Congress fold but was waiting for them to voluntarily leap out to prove their credentials. He said that the Congress party will be happy if they would resign from the post of MLAs and that is why the party have given enough time to them. “I don’t know what happens to these guys. If somebody has the courage let them resign as an MLA,” he said, besides adding that those who accused him of being a “corrupt Chief Minister” will be “dragged through a course of action that will be addressed by the judiciary”.