MDA spokesperson and cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Thursday asked the opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) to refrain from staging protest and meet the chief minister for further clarification on issues related to the Lokayukta.
Speaking to media persons, Lyngdoh said, “My humble request to the VPP, to please kindly understand that the explanation given to the public by us just a couple of days ago on the so-called controversial removal of the members of the Lokayukta is a regular activity…We appeal to the VPP to accordingly seek further clarification with the chief minister and the concerned departments if further clarification is required.”
“Adopting a model of conflict to air grievance by staging sit outs by organizing processions is not a very positive way of telling your government or expressing to the government your concerns on certain matters and I hope that we do not see a conflicting situation emerging because at the end of the day government including the opposition must act responsibly,” she said.
The VPP has decided to stage a sit-in-protest infront of the Secretariat from Friday during office hours to pressurize the state government for reinstating the removed officials of the Lokayukta.
Lyngdoh said there has been no malified intention nor has there been any violation of any procedures or process of law behind the recent removal of the said officials.
“We are guided by the Lokayukta Act, which already initiates that members of the Lokayukta are to be officials who are currently employed at the level of under secretary or secretary in the government bureaucracy,” she stated.
She said: “We understand that there was a deviation from the pre-requisite of the Act. At that point of time because of the exigency, because of the necessity of operationalizing the Lokayukta Act, which had been implemented in the state of Meghalaya and at that point of time there were not suitable officials, who could be assigned these important responsibilities of members of the Lokayukta and as said once this anomaly was detected and once it was brought to the attention of the government, government merely initiated a new list to be placed before the disposal of the Lokayukta to then ensure that anomalies that arose at the initial stage of the notification of members to the important constitutional body of the Lokayukta and that any other interpretation on this matter is away from the actual procedures and process adopted by the government.”
“Hence, my request to the members of the VPP is to have faith that the government has merely executed an order as per the Act and that the government is not the authority that appoints members to the Lokayukta but can only be empowered to send a panel of names to correct an anomaly that was initiated when the Lokayukta was first operationalized in the state of Meghalaya,” she added.