TURA : BJP MDC Bernard N. Marak has questioned the proposed amendment to Rules 128 and 129 of the Autonomous District Council rules, saying the Bill placed before the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) is different from the recommendations made by an earlier committee.
The proposed amendment deals with who can vote in GHADC elections and who can be included in the electoral roll. Marak said a committee was constituted by the previous Executive Committee to examine changes to the rules. But after comparing the committee’s recommendations with the Bill, he said they found differences.
“When we checked the recommendation of the committee and the bill, it was not the same—there were changes there,” Marak said. He did not specify the individual provisions which, according to him, were changed.
The issue came up after Friday’s sitting of the GHADC, where opposition MDCs objected to the decision to take up the electoral Bill on Monday instead of the scheduled final day of the session. Marak questions session extension, he said the agenda given to MDCs showed August 7 as the final day of the session.
According to him, members were not officially informed that the sitting would be extended until Monday. “Since it was the last day, it had to be discussed yesterday,” he said.
Marak said the opposition members had asked the Chairman to table the Bill during Friday’s sitting, but were told it would be taken up on Monday.“ I had to stand because no notification was given to us about extending the session till Monday,” he said.
The disagreement led to a commotion inside the Council on Friday, with proceedings briefly disrupted before the House resumed. Marak questioned the reason for keeping the Bill for Monday.
“We feel that there is a manipulation going on, they are working discreetly,” he alleged. He questioned why the session was being extended without notification and why the Bill had to be taken up on Monday.“ Who is coming on Monday? Why does it have to be extended till Monday?” he asked.
Opposition questions its position in Council
Marak also said the commotion was not planned by the opposition MDCs. “The commotion was not intended; it was a reaction given by all the opposition MDCs against the ruling MDCs,” he said.
He identified the NPP and TMC as the ruling MDCs and said the BJP, Garo National Council and Independent MDCs were being treated as opposition members.
Marak also questioned the use of the opposition designation inside the District Council. He said there was no provision in the Constitution for opposition benches in the District Council, despite the BJP, Garo National Council and Independent MDCs being treated as the opposition.
The immediate dispute, however, remains focused on the proposed changes to Rules 128 and 129.
The Bill seeks changes to the electoral framework, including provisions concerning voters and the electoral roll. Its consideration is expected to continue when the GHADC session resumes on Monday.
