Blow to Congress in Meghalaya as Speaker junks plea to disqualify 12 MLAs who joined TMC

In another blow for the Congress party on Thursday, Meghalaya Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh rejected its plea to disqualify its 12 MLAs who joined TMC on November 25. While maintaining that she respects the order, Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh who filed the petition added that the people will give the "verdict" on the betrayal of these legislators in the next Assembly election due in 2023. Lyngdoh also revealed that she will not pursue the matter further and hinted that her party will concentration on the preparation for the polls.

As per PTI, the Meghalaya Speaker noted in his order, "I am satisfied that the merger of 12 members of  Indian National Congress is valid under the 10th schedule of the  Constitution and does not attract disqualification". "I do not find merit in the submissions made in the petition filed by , MLA, and therefore, the same is hereby dismissed," he added. As more than two-third of MLAs of the Congress Legislative Party defected, they didn't attract disqualification as per the law. 

TMC gets a foothold in Meghalaya

The rift in Congress came to the fore after Vincent Pala's appointment as the president of the party's state unit. Expressing unhappiness, former CM and Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma claimed that he was not consulted by the Congress high command regarding this appointment. While speculation was rife that he would join TMC along with his supporters in October itself, the Sonia Gandhi-led party managed to salvage the situation after Rahul Gandhi held a discussion with Sangma and Pala in the national capital.

Though they agreed to work together for the subsequent by-elections, Congress suffered a drubbing as the ruling coalition won the Rajabala, Mawryngkneng and Mawphlang seats. On November 24, 12 Congress MLAs including Sangma informed Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh about their decision to support TMC. After they formally joined TMC, the Mamata Banerjee-led party had become the principal opposition party with 12 seats. 

Explaining the decision to quit the grand old party, Mukul Sangma revealed, “A complete sense of commitment towards serving the people has brought us to take this decision. In the 2018 Assembly elections, we were confident of forming a government but we could not". In a big indictment of Congress, he alleged that the party had failed to effectively play the role of the main opposition party in the country. In 2018, the National People's Party formed the government along with BJP and smaller parties such as the People's Democratic Front, Hill State People's Democratic Party and United Democratic Party.