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Meghalaya political games

By ruling out another change of guard in Meghalaya, the central leadership of the Congress has sent a message of stability to the State and also a firm signal to potential dissidents elsewhere. The overall situation, however, reflects an unsatisfactory state of affairs in a party that is no stranger to tussles over the loaves and fishes of office. The latest round did not involve any issue of policy or principle. It was only on June 15 that J.D. Rymbai replaced D.D. Lapang as Chief Minister following a demand from a majority of Congress legislators. In less than a month, there were moves to reinstate Mr. Lapang, who sought to turn the tables on a successor of whom he had spoken in approving terms. Over the past few weeks, Congress leaders and legislators shuttled between Shillong and New Delhi, so much so that the central leadership had to direct legislators to devote their time to nursing their constituencies rather than politicking in New Delhi. The directive followed reports that at least 15 — of a total of 29 — MLAs of the Congress were virtually camping in the national capital for weeks on end. At one point, things appeared to be swinging in Mr. Lapang's favour after party president Sonia Gandhi met a group of dissident MLAs. Mr. Rymbai's Government has been in limbo these past few weeks. He has not been able to call a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party after one held soon after the mantle fell on him in June. Nor has he been able to face the Assembly. Finally, the prospect of the Nationalist Congress Party unit led by P.A. Sangma, with its seven MLAs, supporting the Chief Minister in the event of a section of Congress legislators going with Mr. Lapang, seems to have settled matters. Further, the four partners of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, which together account for a crucial 16 seats, made clear their opposition to yet another change at the helm within such a short period. Mr. Rymbai thus gets to keep his chair at least for now.

While the political games go on, the sensitive border State has to cope with incipient insurgency, law and order travails, and slippages in development. Recently the Governor requested the Central Government to deploy additional security forces in Meghalaya to help maintain peace. The volatile Khasi-Jaintia-Garo tribal equation is a major factor in the State's politics. The demand put forward by two regional parties last week to carve out of Meghalaya two States along tribal lines and a call for a `Greater Garoland' are separatist expressions of deepening political instability. Meanwhile, cross-border issues involving Bangladesh, chiefly over infiltration, persist. Incessant demands for a change at the helm to meet the lust for power ensure that little attention can be given to development.

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