Shillong, June 13: All members of the D.D. Lapang government in Meghalaya have decided to resign by the end of this month to enable the chief minister to reconstitute the ministry instead of dropping ministers to reduce its size. The Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) last night gave Lapang “full authority” to downsize the ministry in the manner he chooses to.
The Lapang ministry has 41 members, but has to be pruned down to 12 before July 6 because of a constitutional amendment.
Though the prospect of losing their ministerial portfolios has caused anxiety and confusion in the MDA ranks, all ministers are understood to have agreed to help the chief minister go about his task without having to worry about offending any coalition partner.
Lapang told the media after the meeting last evening that all ministers decided to put in their papers to facilitate “a free and fair” downsizing process.
He refused to divulge anything more about his plans, saying: “I cannot say anything now. Nothing has been discussed. All I can say is that all the legislators in the MDA coalition have shown a great understanding of the law and have given me the responsibility.”
A source in the ruling coalition, however, claimed the composition of the ministry had been decided. “All that remains are mere formalities.”
He said the new ministry was likely to have eight Congress members and four from the four regional parties — the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Meghalaya Democratic Party, the Hill State People’s Democratic Party and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement.
The MDA meeting also decided to form a core committee to resolve the controversy that has arisen out of the resignation of UDP leader Heltone Marak from the government and his tirade against public works department minister Mukul Sangma.
Marak, who is also a part of the MDA, has been continuously accusing Sangma of misappropriating PWD funds. Opposition parties have joined in the campaign and are now demanding the minister’s resignation.
“We do not want any confusion and have decided that such things will not be allowed as it creates misunderstanding and differences within the coalition,” Lapang said.
The chief minister said the MDA had taken exception to Marak’s remarks against the minister.
The committee headed by Lapang is expected to hold closed-door meetings with the UDP leaders and mount pressure on the party to call for an explanation from Marak.
The Congress said it would not tolerate such activities by any of its partners.