SHILLONG:
Nongkrem legislator and Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, on March 24, threatened to hit the streets after he was unable to move a motion on the roster system on the fifth day of the budget session since the house was adjourned at noon.
With the Private Members Business ending today, the opposition can no longer move any motion on the floor of the house and this did not go down well with the VPP legislators who alleged that the lesser number of days allotted for private members business, which was two, was an attempt of the MDA II government to run away from responsibility.
Basaiawmoit was supposed to move a motion on the urgent need to discuss and request the government to put on hold the implementation of the roster system in the state, retrospectively.
“It is sad to look at the way the House is being conducted. The lesser number of days allotted to the private members and the way we were restricted even in the timing, which was only 10 minutes, is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the roster system is a serious issue as it has affected the citizens, especially in Khasi-Jaintia region.
He further alleged the government of instructing its MLAs to participate in a motion confined to one constituency only, taking up most of the time and ultimately leading to the adjournment of the house. “This is a deliberate attempt of the government to run away from the responsibility but we will not allow this,” he said, adding that this is the first time that the speaker of the house is not seeking suggestions from the opposition side on whether to extend the House or stick to the timing according to the calendar.
“If we are not allowed to participate in the House, we will hit the streets. We don’t want to but we can’t help it,” he said while terming the government’s act as “anti-people and anti-democratic”.
When asked whether they will move a no-confidence motion against the government in the next sitting of the house, the VPP leader said, “There are a lot of ways of protesting; people are waiting for us to take up these important issues. We have to discuss as a party to find out ways to highlight these issues. We will take a decision at an appropriate time.”