Shillong, Sept. 19: The United Democratic Party (UDP), the Opposition in Meghalaya, which is gearing up for the coming byelections to seven seats of two autonomous district councils, today claimed that an amendment to Prevention of Disqualification (Member of Legislative Assembly Meghalaya) Act, 1972, last year that bars MLAs from holding the posts of members of district council (MDCs), is still "inconclusive".
<$>In a meeting of the UDP's state election committee held here today, the party decided to field candidates "from all the seven vacant seats - six in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and one in the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC).
Dates of the bypolls have not yet been approved by governor V. Shanmuganathan.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, UDP legislator Jemino Mawthoh said that out of the seven constituencies only the name of former chief executive of the KHADC H.S. Shylla has been approved to be the party's candidate from Nongkrem constituency.
"Candidates for the other six constituencies, including one seat in the JHADC, will be decided within October," Mawthoh said.
Asked if the UDP's sitting MLAs would be put up as candidates from some of the constituencies - as the post of the MDC is not an office of profit - Mawthoh said: "Though in principle we agree that there should be one-man one-post policy, the law related to dual post is still inconclusive."
Though the Congress-led government had amended the act passed by the Assembly in September last year to prevent MLAs from holding the posts of MDCs, the governor had said that the provisions of disqualification would not be applicable for P.N. Syiem (who is holding the posts of MLA and MDC) under Article 191 (1) (a) of the Constitution.
Recently, the Meghalaya High Court also upheld the order of the governor on Syiem (that the post of MDC does not come under the office of profit).
The amendment was done by deleting entry 9 from the act of 1972 which said: "The chairman, chief executive member and others, executive members or ordinary members of a district council in an autonomous district or any member nominated to such district council by the governor are not attracted from disqualification."?
Countering the claims of chief minister Mukul Sangma and district council affairs minister Prestone Tynsong that the Disqualification (Member of Legislative Assembly Meghalaya) Amendment Act, 2015 is "valid", senior UDP leader and former deputy chief minister Bindo M. Lanong, said: "The amendment act may be valid for the government. But the law is inconclusive and the dispute is still on. If the law (amendment act) is valid as claimed, it means that the ruling of the high court would have to be challenged."?
"As a general principle, we agreed that there should be one-man-one-post policy. But for the MDCs whose present term expires in 2019, the party can still consider them as candidates if they emerged as fair contenders for the Assembly polls in 2018," the veteran UDP leader said.
The UDP has two MLAs who had earlier held the MDC posts, but they resigned from that posts after the act of 1972 was amended.
While Congress minister H.D.R. Lyngdoh was the first to quit as MDC, the other MLAs who resigned from the MDC posts were Sanbor Shullai (NCP), Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit and P.K. Pangniang (both of the HSPDP), Metbah Lyngdoh and Brolding Nongsiej (both UDP) - all members of the KHADC and Stephanson Mukhim (Independent) member of the JHADC.
However, only Syiem (MLA and MDC of Mawsynram constituency) did not resign as MDC.
The seven vacant seats include Nongspung-Sohiong constituency, Laban-Mawprem, Nongkrem , Mairang-Nongkhlaw, Mathadraishan and Rambrai-Jyrngam (all under the KHADC) and War East constituency under JHADC.
