Shillong, June 27: UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh has slammed the Voice of the People’s Party (VPP)-led executive committee (EC) in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) for claiming that they lack experience.
“Nobody can complain that they lack experience and say that they are just testing the waters,” Lyngdoh told reporters. “You are elected, you can no longer claim that you are just learning the ropes, learning the tricks of the trade, that is not acceptable. You have entered into a profession where you are expected to lead, you are expected to know rules, the laws, the various acts of the council”, Paul said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Voice of the People’s Party (VPP)-led executive committee (EC) had admitted that it is facing a lot of challenges due to the lack of experience by EM in-charge Finance Seiborlang Warbah while replying to the budget discussion.
Lyngdoh, a former MDC, wanted all elected MDCs to at least read the Sixth Schedule, the various enactments, laws, and rules. He expressed surprise that ordinary situations have reached the high court, with the court questioning the enforcement of orders that do not have a legal framework.
He referred to two recent issues that have reached the high court, including the termination of service of certain employees and the setting up of a toll gate on a national highway. “Once you have a toll road, it’s very obvious that the road constructed and funded by the NHAI would recover its investment by having the toll gate. Now which authority on earth would allow another agency to also collect revenue and toll from a road on which it has invested and which I believe is yet to recover its investment. These are fundamental issues, it doesn’t require lots of experience, it is just plain common sense,” he said.
To a question whether the present EC should step down due to incompetence, Lyngdoh said, “If you talk of inexperience, the president of the VPP has been in the state Assembly, was the president of the HSPDP, was the forefront leader of the UDP, so how do you talk of inexperience.”
Lyngdoh stressed that the electorate deserves better representation, and it’s an insult to pick people from “dhaba and roadside” and dump them in the council. “They (VPP EC) are supposed to have some experience in public life. You don’t pick up people from dhabas and roadside and dump them in the council. It is an insult to the electorate,” he said.
On the conduct of voting before tabling the budget in KHADC, Lyngdoh refused to comment while emphasizing that the VPP’s actions are utterly devoid of logic and suggested that they should at least read the rule book of the council.
