Shillong: The Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) has accepted the resignation of its president, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, and resolved to continue supporting the coalition government of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance.

This was decided in the central executive committee meeting of the party at the MLAs' hostel here on Tuesday evening.

On March 6, Basaiawmoit had resigned as president of the HSPDP owning moral responsibility for its defeat and its inability to rein in two MLAs who supported the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.

"It is meaningless to lead the party when as a party we cannot rein in our MLAs," Basaiawmoit had said in his resignation letter.

"The meeting accepted the resignation of the president and according to the constitution of the party, the vice-president can take over as the acting president," HSPDP vice-president K.P. Pangniang told reporters.

Pangniang has taken charge as acting president for the time being.

He said responsibility of the party's defeat in the Assembly elections should be a collective responsibility of its leaders and not that of its president only.

The HSPDP won only two seats in the February 27 Assembly elections and its all four sitting legislators, including Basaiawmoit, were defeated.

The party now has two MLAs, including Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar representing Mawkyrwat constituency and public health engineering minister Samlin Malngiang who represents Sohïong.

On the decision of the HSPDP to support the MDA government, Pangniang said the party was of the view that its two MLAs should support the government with a condition that issues raised by the party should get priority.

Pangniang said: "It is not blind support. Our two MLAs will raise issues of the party before the government and get those implemented."

He said some of the main issues of the HSPDP include implementation of the inner-line permit to check influx, solution to inter-state boundary dispute with Assam and opposing uranium mining.

On an idea floated by chief minister Conrad K. Sangma to issue work permits to Bangladeshi nationals, Pangniang said that the party is yet to discuss the issue.

Tongkhar, however, said the chief minister is ready to admit mistakes and willing to get things corrected.

According to Tongkhar, an MDA committee on common minimum programme, headed by the chief minister, was formed and a sub-committee headed by former deputy chief minister Bindo M. Lanong is working on a draft common minimum programme of all parties supporting the coalition government.

"We hope to have a common minimum programme most probably after the budget session," he said.