SHILLONG, June 15 – Meghalaya Speaker Martin M Danggo today announced that he would drop the disqualification of membership case against three NCP MLAs but pursue the same against two others as per the requests of complainants. Danggo informed the Assembly that the case against the three MLAs was dropped after receiving a ‘fresh letter’ from two complainants – Tony Curtis Lyngdoh and Sayeedullah Nongrum – both Congress ministers in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance Government yesterday.
The two complainants on April 1 had petitioned to the Speaker to initiate cases against five NCP MLAs – Edmund K Sangma, Admiral K Sangma, Masonsing M Sangma, TD Shira and Gopinath K Sangma – relating to disqualification of their membership as per the rule. It was widely believed that the action was sought against the NCP legislators as they had reportedly campaigned for Nationalist Trinamool Congress leader Purno A Sangma in the last Lok Sabha elections from Tura Parliamentary constituency.
After receiving the petition on April 1, the Speaker said he had sent show-cause notices to the five members on April 14, to which the MLAs sent their replies on April 21 last pleading for a personal hearing which was fixed on June 29 next. The two petitioners said in yesterday’s letter that they bore ‘no more grievances’ against Masonsingh M Sangma, TD Shira and Gopinath K Sangma and were not interested in pursuing the case against the three. But the case against the other two including Admiral K Sangma, the leader of the Opposition, would “remain unaltered”, he said. The date and time of the new hearing would be notified later, he said.