Shillong, May 9: The United Democratic Party (UDP) today elected Meghalaya deputy chief minister Donkupar Roy as party president, triggering strong protests from supporters of outgoing president and former chief minister, E.K. Mawlong.
Refusing to accept Roy as president, Mawlong’s supporters threatened to quit the party.
Addressing newsmen after the election, which was conducted at the fourth general council meeting of the UDP, Roy said the decision to remove Mawlong was unanimous.
“If there was any objection, it should have been raised during the election,” he said.
Ruling out the UDP’s poor performance during the last Assembly elections and Mawlong’s defeat from Umroi constituency as reasons for his removal, Roy said the nomination committee wanted to include new faces in the party.
Though loud protests against the decision could be heard, Roy claimed, “I am confident that there is no dissent in the UDP and the party is not going to split.”
He also denied reports that Mawlong had been removed to allow former partymen, who are now in the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), to return.
“We definitely want the MDP members to return to the UDP and discussions on this matter are being held at the district levels. However, it has nothing to do with Mawlong’s removal from the post of party president,” Roy said, adding that he would be working at tandem with the former UDP president to deal with issues like the militant-politician nexus.
Roy said he would ensure that a thorough inquiry into the alleged militant-politician nexus was instituted and the guilty punished. Newly-elected general secretary S.D. Khongwir supported Roy on this matter.
Ex-minister grilled
Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang today told newspersons that former minister Adolf Lu Hitler Marak, accused in the militant-politician nexus case, had appeared before the police.
Police summoned Marak after two Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC) rebels were arrested from a state pool car, which was in the former minister’s possession.
However, no arrest warrant has been issued against Marak, Lapang said.
“Marak today appeared before the investigation officer and made his statements,” Lapang said, adding, “It is now up to the police to find out whether Marak is really involved with the militants.”