11 Mar :Crisis on Wednesday gripped politically volatile Meghalaya with the NCP led-Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) losing majority after withdrawal of support by a senior Minister, while the Opposition Congress stated it was being "contacted from all sides".
Urban Affairs Minister and the lone KHNAM MLA Paul Lyngdoh and two independents, Limison Sangma and Ismail R Marak, pulled out from the MPA coalition in the last three days, reducing MPA’s strength to 30 in the 60-member assembly.Chief Minister Donkupar Roy, however, said he would not resign and favoured a floor test in the House.
The Chief Minister said he lodged a complaint with Speaker B M Lanong for disqualification of the two independents who had switched allegiance to the Congress.
The MPA partners went into a huddle at the Chief Minister’s residence, with Roy claiming that neither the UDP, which he leads, nor the NCP would go with the Congress.
NCP leader and Finance Minister Conrad Sangma also maintained that P A Sangma had held no talks with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, as claimed by Opposition leader D D Lapang.The Congress, meanwhile, was keeping its options open, with its leader Lapang not ruling out the possibility of a tie-up with the NCP.