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Meghalaya : Portfolio distribution - “Please-all strategy” by new CM

	June 26, 2006

New Meghalaya Chief Minister J.D. Rymbai

who replaced his old colleague D.D. Lapang

did a smart juggling act by distributing

plum portfolios equally among his eight Congress

colleagues and three regional party heads in his

coalition government.

The oath of office to the nine Ministers was

administered by Manipur Governor S.S. Sidhu as

his counterpart in Meghalaya was on leave. United

Democratic Party president Donkupar Roy and

Meghalaya Democratic Party chief Martle Mukhim

had been sworn in earlier along with Chief Minister

Rymbai.

There are only five survivors from the dissolved

ministry - Rymbai, Roy, Mukhim, Brening Sangma

and Chitlang Pale - in the new government. Robert

G. Lyngdoh, who had resigned from the Lapang

ministry, has been brought back as Home Minister.

He will also look after Tourism, Art and Culture,

and IT.

The Chief Minister has kept with him Industry,

Personnel, Political Affairs, Cabinet Affairs and

Programme Implementation portfolios.

The lone woman, Irene Lyngdoh, has been

allotted Community and Rural Development

Ministry.

The Chief Minister told the media after the

swearing-in ceremony that his predecessor, D.D.

Lapang, would be made the chairman of the

Meghalaya Economic Development Council, a post

previously held by Robert G. Lyngdoh.

Change of guard in Meghalaya was necessitated

after Lapang resigned following a revolt against him

by 17 of the 29 Congress legislators. Sonia Gandhi

had sent Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union

minister of state Oscar Fernandez and AICC observer

Ved Prakash to Shillong to defuse the crisis.

Home Minister’s warning to rebels

Soon after taking over as Home Minister

Lyngdoh warned all extremist groups, including the

Achik National Volunteers Council, not to indulge

in criminal activities or otherwise the law will take

its own course. He said the law is one and the same

for all those involved in criminal activities.

Responding to a question on illegal activities

of certain organisations, he said the government

would deal firmly with all, irrespective of their

“status”.

Lyngdoh said all possible steps have been taken

for a dialogue with the Hynniewtrep National

Liberation Council (HNLC) and it is now their turn

to come forward. “It takes two hands to clap and

not one hand,” he added.

Meanwhile, the militant United People’s

Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) has warned the new

government in the state against “instigating

communal violence” between the two dominant

tribes of Karbis and Khasi-Pnars residing along the

inter-state boundary with Assam.

In a hard-hitting statement in the wake of

Meghalaya police gunning down two of its cadres

on Monday, June 19, the Karbi militant outfit said

the state government would have to bear full

responsibility if any untoward incident took place

as a consequence.

The Meghalaya police said the two Karbi rebels

were killed in an encounter with a police team in

the Jaintia Hills district along the Assam-Meghalaya

boundary. According to the police, the encounter

took place when the rebels - who were camping at a

place called Umkhyrmi on the border of Karbi

Anglong and Jaintia Hills - fired at a patrol team of

the Meghalaya police, which retaliated.

UPDS joint secretary Wojaru Mukrang,

however, termed the incident “unprovoked

aggression” by the Meghalaya police eight km inside

Assam territory.