Correspondent
SHILLONG, SEP 25 (NPN): In a swift political countermove, the eight former United Democratic Party (UDP) legislators, who joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators on Friday formally submitted their merger letter to Meghalaya Assembly. The move comes after the UDP had filed a petition seeking disqualification of the eight legislators under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The eight legislators submitted their merger letter to Assembly Adviser (Legislation) Andrew Simons, as Speaker Thomas A. Sangma is currently in Malta on a post-conference study tour.
“I have received a letter signed by eight legislators informing the Speaker about their merger with the BJP. They have submitted the required documents, and it will be processed accordingly,” Simons said.
He said the Speaker would examine both the legislators’ merger letter and the UDP’s disqualification petition in accordance with relevant constitutional provisions and assembly rules before any official order is issued. Seven of the eight MLAs– Lahkmen Rymbui, Kyrmen Shylla, Olan Singh Suin, Mathew Beyondstar Kurbah, Pius Marwein, Synshar Thabah and Balajied Synrem– were present when the documents were submitted. They were accompanied by BJP state president Rikman G Momin and BJP parliamentary leader and minister Sanbor Shullai. Mayralborn Syiem, who also joined the BJP on Tuesday in New Delhi, was not physically present during the submission, though his paperwork was included in the handover to Simons.
Asked whether the move could be treated as a merger of UDP Legislature Party with BJP, Simons said the issue would require legal examination, given that four UDP legislators remain with the regional party.
It is noteworthy that UDP’s State Parliamentary Board Secretary Allantry Dkhar on Wednesday submitted the party’s petition to the Speaker’s office seeking the disqualification of the eight legislators, after the UDP suspended three of them– Kyrmen Shylla, Olan Suin, and Matthew Beyondstar Kurbah– for allegedly failing to respond to the show-cause notices.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya State BJP has accorded a grand welcome at the state BJP headquarters in Shillong to the eight legislators who joined the BJP on Tuesday in New Delhi. State BJP president Momin and cabinet minister Shullai among other senior party leaders welcomed the legislators to the BJP fold.
The entry of the eight UDP legislators has increased the BJP’s strength in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly from two to 10, making it the second-largest party in the house. The BJP is an ally in the NPP-led MDA, where the National People’s Party holds 33 members– two more than the required majority mark in the assembly.