SHILLONG, Feb 11 � NCP leader and former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma today slammed the Congress-led Meghalaya government saying it had no �respect for democracy�, a day after NCP�s State unit working president and seven other senior leaders joined the Congress, reports PTI.
�Meghalaya has been the worst State in terms of development, and now it is the worst where there is no rule of law, no respect for democracy and no respect for the Constitution,� Sangma told a press conference.
His outburst came a day after state NCP working president E K Sangma and seven other leaders � all elected members of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) shifted their allegiance to the Congress, paving the way for the ruling party to clinch power in the Garo council. �I am happy to return to the parent party. I will be able to serve the people better from the Congress fold,� EK Sangma said.
With the joining of the seven members of district council, the Congress now has 18 members in the 30-member GHADC. Following this the State Cabinet last night decided to revoke the Administrator rule in the GHADC and convene a special session for trial of strength and subsequent installation of a popular executive council.
The GHADC was placed under Administrator rule since April 1 last year in the wake of a political instability set off after allegations that the ruling NCP had clutched on to power despite losing majority.
PA Sangma, however, said the State Government was trying to forcibly instal the executive committee of the GHADC that is in violation of a recent Gauhati High Court ruling that had asked the Government to maintain status quo.
�A division bench of the Gauhati High Court had ruled that till the inquiry into the alleged financial irregularities in the GHADC is over, there cannot be any installation of the executive council (EC). The government�s move to instal the EC is purely violation of the court verdict. The NCP will file a contempt of court against the government,� the NCP leader said.
