This comes a day after both camps traded charges against each other in the blame-game for the crisis in the party. While Mr Nongtdu held the Chief Minister responsible for sending to AICC the secret ballot of CLP leader election, the compliments were squarely returned by rival faction.

On Thursday, the Rymbai camp upped the ante and sought to settle the score with Mr Nongtdu for what they called his "unbecoming" role as party chief.

PHE Minister Mr Prestone Tynsong said that they had demanded in the past that Mr Nongtdu should be replaced. He said the top leaders of the party should have taken necessary action against him. However, if Mr Nongtdu was a responsible leader, he should step down taking moral responsibility for the mess he had created, he added.

According to Mr Tynsong, the MPCC chief has destroyed the party's unity by creating instability first in the party, then in the government and even in the district councils.

Mr Tynsong, who is also the District Council Affairs Minister, further said that from the moment Mr Nongtdu took over as president of MPCC, groupism among MLAs, MDCs and other leaders became the order of the day. He reiterated that for the ongoing instability in the government, Mr Nongtdu should be held responsible. Mr Prestone made it clear that instead of others asking Mr Nongtdu to step down, he should realise his mistake and step down gracefully.

Expressing resentment over the comments made by the MPCC president against the Chief Minister on the issue of the crisis in CLP, Mr Tynsong said that he should have held consultations with the Chief Minister or other party leaders instead of going to the press. The MPCC chief had remarked that it was Mr Rymbai who insisted that the envelope containing the ballot paper should be opened in Delhi.

Echoing similar view, the MPCC vice-president, Mr Oris Lyngdoh said that from the time Mr Nongtdu took over as president, signs of disunity surfaced in the Congress. The State Congress chief should have brought unity in the party, as the next Assembly election was only a year ahead, he added.

In agreement with Mr Oris Lyngdoh, West Khasi Hills Congress president, Mr Rowell Lyngdoh said that if Mr Nongtdu continued as the president of MPCC, it would lead to the elimination of the Congress in the 2008 Assembly elections.

While Mr Rymbai did not want to comment on who was responsible for the current crisis in CLP, at the same time, he blamed the MPCC president for the present state of affairs in both KHADC and JHADC.

"The recent demand for change of leadership in KHADC and JHADC is entirely due to the mishandling of the situation by Mr Nongtdu", Mr Rymbai said.

He said the district councils, which have been riddled with factionalism, have the power to sort out their problems among themselves, instead of needing the interference of any party leader.

The city wore a deserted look as most vehicles were off the streets. Shops and business establishments downed their shutters before the commencement of the strike period.

Iewduh, which is the biggest commercial centre of the city, witnessed a heavy rush of people trying to replenish their stocks.

Though the strike called by the underground outfit is a routine one during national days, police has made elaborate security arrangement to prevent any untoward incident.

Meghalaya DGP Mr WL Marbaniang has said that necessary security arrangements have been made for the Republic Day celebrations, and has appealed to the public to attend the function at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Polo.

The BSF is also on a high alert to prevent any cross-border movement of militants. "We have taken extra care in the border in view of the volatile situation", said Mr JP Sinha, BSF IG, Asom-Meghalaya.

The State government has already promulgated 144 CrPC.

Police also conducted checking of vehicles at various points of the city during nighttime since the past three days as part of the security arrangement. Similar security checks were also conducted in various parts of the State where the Republic Day celebration would be held.

Governor MM Jacob will unfurl the national tri-colour at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Polo.

PTI adds from New Delhi: Security personnel set up barricades on the streets police aided by snifer dogs raided hotels as an unprecedented security cover was clamped across in Delhi and rest of the country today to prevent terror attacks in the run up to the Republic Day.

At least 15,000 policemen were deployed in the national capital which was put on a higher state of alert in the wake of intelligence inputs warning of suicides attacks around the Republic Day and arrest of a suspected Lashkar-e-Tabia militant on Thursday evening.

The youth are interested in being adventurous but have no parental encouragement or peer pressure. Indeed they are not happy with this forced confinement, but are unable to break the shackles.

A section of the local youth who this reporter spoke to have expressed their dismay for not being able to join hands with the rest of the country in celebrating the Republic Day celebrations due to bandh called by HNLC.

A youth from Lumdiengri, Trustman Shangpliang said that never in his life he got a chance to celebrate either the Republic Day or the Independence Day due to repeated bandhs.

"I really want to go to Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex to see with my own eyes the different programmes of the celebrations," Trustman said.

He said that the urge to celebrate these days would remain as a dream until the bandhs during these celebrations are stopped.

Trustman further informed that usually during these two celebrations he used to remain inside the house, but in the recent years with the improvement of the situation he is able to come out and play outside.

A Class V student of St Anthony's Higher Secondary School, Bannehskhem Tynsong said that he is not aware that the Republic and Independence Day is celebrated because of bandh.

He said that though he longed to experience the Republic Day celebrations but he is sure that his parents would not allow him.

Another young lad from Wahingdoh, Kenny Warjri said that though he used to hear from his elder friends on how they used to celebrate the Independence and Republic Day, he never had the first-hand experience.

"I would like to celebrate these two days but I want to celebrate it when there will be no bandh or any kind of disturbance," Kenny said, adding that owing to fear of physical harm he is compelled to remain at home and help his parents in cleaning-up the house.

The question is whose words do they care for, the government's or parents? With no serious effort on anybody's part to ferry these willing but not so courageous youth, chances are that one more Republic Day will pass as yet another uneventful day for them.

In a letter to Health Minister Elstone D Marak , the KSU gave the department time upto February 26 to arrange water supply to the CHC and warned of undertaking agitation if the demand was not met within the stipulated time.

The students' body also said that shortage of water had severely affected the health care functions of the hospital and caused great hardship to the patients. It also said that the Director of Health Services (DHS) and District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) had failed to invite the local KSU leaders to discuss the problem despite appointments fixed with them from time to time.

TURA: The State Government has submitted a proposal to the Centre to send a goodwill delegation to neighbouring Bangladesh and seek its support for opening up of the border for trade at select locations.

The move stems from the failure of the Bangaldesh Government to respond to the Indian Government's proposal which has been pending with them for the last three years. This was informed by Chairman of State Planning Board, Salseng C Marak here on Tuesday.

"To boost the economy of the border villages in Khasi and Garo Hills by way of border trade with neighbouring Bangladesh, a proposal was sent to the Centre seeking its views. New Delhi accepted the State's proposal and forwarded it to Dhaka, but sadly there has been no response from Bangladesh for the last three years," informed Mr Marak.

AH Scott Lyngdoh, who was also present during the press briefing, informed that the goodwill delegation would try and impress upon Bangladesh the positive side of border trade. "Both countries stand to benefit by way of trade. We will put this message across," he said.

There are approximately eight locations proposed as 'border haats'. In the Garo Hills, Baghmara, Gasuapara, Dalu and Mahendraganj are the probable places where the border trade is expected to take place.

The State Government has assured that work for the much-delayed hydroelectric power plant at Ganol river in Garo Hills would begin from next month with a timeframe of three years for its completion. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the feasibility of the power plant, which is expected to generate 25 MW, has recently been submitted to the government by a technical team, informed AH Scott Lyngdoh, Vice Chairman of the State Planning Board while interacting with mediapersons at Tura Circuit House on Tuesday evening.

Mr Lyngdoh was accompanied by Agriculture Minister Manirul Islam Sarkar and West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner P Sampath Kumar. The DPR for thermal power plant at Nangalbibra is due to be submitted in February but no time frame has been announced for initiating the project.

He turned down the allegation that the developmental package and the 'Year of the Farmer' schemes were prepared in view of the election ahead.

"Mistakes have been made at time of planning for most projects and while we have been claiming to possess potential of over a thousand MW of power yet it is sad to say that the state has been able to generate only 185 MW so far," lamented Mr Lyngdoh.

Growth in the farming sector has been dismal in the state and Sericulture and Weaving have been the most neglected departments, said Scott Lyngdoh adding that what little progress made has been in the Garo Hills. In reply to a query on the poor pricing of ginger due to lack of marketing facilities, Mr Scott Lyngdoh admitted that ginger farmers have been severely affected for not getting the due price.

Stray dogs moving around within the hospital has created menace to the visitors and inmates alike. Recently, a stray bit one Equal Sumer (14), a student of Jowai Government Public School while he was walking within the hospital premises. Dr M Pde of the hospital provided immediate treatment to the boy.

"Jowai, Civil Hospital is the oldest hospital of Jaintia Hills district and its high time the admistration looked after the matter seriously," said one of the boy’s relatives.

SHILLONG: Mother of the 13-year-old girl, Polly R Shylla, who was a cause of concern for the police for "violating traffic rules", has criticized the police department for trying to suppress the talent of the teenager.

On the basis of a video aired by a local cable channel showing the girl driving a vehicle, the police on Wednesday announced to have contemplated legal action against the channel as well as against the guardian of the girl.

"It is surprising that the police termed the driving talent of the small girl as violation of the Motor Vehicle Act," Mrs Shylla said.

The department has made a mockery of itself as on the World AIDS Day, December 1 last year, the DGP himself flagged off the Motor Bike Rally led by six-year-old Dathrang Murphy Kurbah led the rally, she pointed out.

SHILLONG: Bangladesh importers have stopped receiving coal from Dawki as the Customs failed to allow the entry of at least 8 trucks carrying 100 metric tonnes intead of 6 trucks.

Informed sources said that after the CBI raid recently, the Customs restricted the number of trucks to 6 trucks.

Annoyed over this, Bangladesh importers have already decided to stop the import of coal from January 1 since the number of trucks carrying coal was restricted.

‘Stressed Assets Resolution Centre (SARC) State Bank of India, M.G. Road, Shillong Branch Campus will hold a ‘Bank Adalat’ on February 14 from 10:30 am at the State Bank of India Shillong Branch Campus for settlement of dues/loan outstandings up to Rs. 2 lakh under Government Sponsored Schemes and other Loans up to Rs. 1 lakh by negotiation or compromise to clear the dues within definite time frame.

Mawphu United Social Welfare Organisation will organise a Legal Awareness Camp at Mawphu, Hima Sohra on January 29, at 11 am. The village authority has invited Dr. B. Lyndem to be the main speaker on the occasion.

Over 200 poor patients, scattered in the various wards of Civil Hospital, Shillong, for lunch on Thursday. 10 members of the Rotary Club of Shillong along with two Rotarylets, distributed the packets as part of the humanitarian service that the Rotary Club of Shillong undertook, ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. members included, Rtns. Santaram Joshi, Debashish Das, Kailash Verma, Sarad Bawri, Rakesh Puri, Jyotshna Puri, Parambir Singh, Therlinda Khongwir, Deepak Singla, Anil Pradhan and Rotarylets, jatish Agarwal and Bhabesh Bawri.

The growing cordiality between India and the US in economic and strategic fields has not lessened the warmth of relations between India and Russia. The Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty of 1971 has given way to Indo-Russian partnership. And since the world is no longer bipolar, this does not cause any bitterness. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been here before and his coming visit may not bring forth any spectacular results. Yet, reiteration strengthens the bond, which is necessary in the changing global scenario. It is significant that in an interview to the Russian media, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has put the emphasis on fighting terrorism. If the blight of terrorism in India cannot be eradicated, progress in other directions will naturally be halted. He has referred to India’s profound interest in controlling the dangerous forces of terrorism and religious extremism, which thrive in India’s neighbourhood. ‘ Our neighbourhood provides the biggest infrastructure to perpetuate terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking the world over’, he said. This is an implicit reference to Pakistan and Bangladesh. While India does not want the composite peace dialogue with Pakistan to be slowed down and has agreed to the formation of a joint mechanism to combat terrorism, there is no point in hiding the fact that New Delhi is convinced the threat from these neighbours has not receded. India is anxious to get the assistance of the international community in this mission. It is also significant that Manmohan Singh has talked about Indo-Russian co-operation in the field of nuclear energy. Much heat has been generated over the Indo-US nuclear treaty and though certain hurdles still remain, President George Bush has assured India that all will be well. That does not mean that the nuclear energy deal with Russia proposed during Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow some time back should not be given a further push. Emphasis should also be placed on increasing the volume of trade between the two countries. Putin has called for cutting red tapism and wants to increase the bilateral trade turnover from $ 5 billion to $ 25 billion in the next four years.

India is wedded to global peace but it has to step up its defence preparedness in view of growing compulsions. That means cutting deals for military hardware with advanced countries. It would be ideal if defence expenditure could be curtailed in order to increase allocations for the social sector. But that cannot be done and considering that, talks with Russia raise high hopes. The Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov, has made it clear that China cannot sell Russian-made military hardware and equipment to Pakistan. But that is not enough. India and Russia have signed a host of protocols to take military co-operation between the two countries to a higher level. The two countries will soon start jointly developing and manufacturing fifth generation fighter aircraft for which the modalities have been already worked out. This should allay apprehensions about the report that Pakistan planned to get sophisticated Russian aero-engines installed in fighter jets to be sold to China. All this is to the good. But Russia has in the recent past been found a little ambivalent in its relations with India. It was evident in Putin’s attitude to India’s claim to permanent membership with a veto in the Security Council.

With Mr OL Nongtdu as President the Congress needs no enemy. In aligning with DD Lapang against JD Rymbai Nongtdu has sledge-hammered the party. Before I move further, let me remind Mr Nongtdu that the Congress party did not come as his personal dowry. It is a political party and what happens within that party, namely the current power struggle and other unsavoury episodes over the last six months, are matters that merit public debate. If the Congress is a private organization zealously guarding its ivory towers, then it has no mandate to seek votes from the public during elections. Tomorrow if a Congress candidate comes begging for votes from the people what should we tell him? That we are not concerned with him since his is a private party?

It is doubtful if anyone can salvage a party with suicidal tendencies. By all reckoning the Congress is sucked in a whirlpool of intrigues. Party workers are not privy to these palace intrigues. Yet they also want to do a damage control. Unfortunately, the party is today afflicted by acute paralysis of thought and action due to the absence of inner-party democracy. A small coterie assert their hegemony and run the party like a fiefdom. Dissent is termed as dissidence. The dissenter is promptly asked to shut up or leave. Nongtdu's cockiness and his imperious claim that nobody can jettison him from the top post are all part of the coterie politics. So he continues to throw several spanners in the works, making a spectacle of the party he leads, spouting out conflicting statements that confound party followers and political observers, no less.

In the land of lotus eaters, where talking clubs are aplenty but things have a habit of getting stuck (like the Crowborough hotel, Shillong by-pass etc) a political drama such as the one staged by the Congress with repeated frequency does provide some excitement. As this riveting theatre of the absurd shifts venue from Shillong to Delhi and back it creates greater interest and more speculation. The only guys who are not amused are the market managers. They are the financiers and event managers who pay for staging the show and the unofficial trips of the troupe from Shillong to Delhi to Shillong, over and over again. Why?

The reason is because Nongtdu, who is supposed to play midwife to the birth of a new leader, is unable to facilitate the process. Unlike other midwives who only act as facilitators without out any kind of engineering, Nongtdu is determined to predestine the kind of child that must be born. Now, the atmosphere is pregnant with speculations even as the child refuses to arrive and transcends instead into the post mature period. If and when the child is born the labour pain of the mother (Congress) will be excruciating. Only a caesarian section might save the hapless child. But this will also drive an unspeakable wedge in the mother's womb.

A political party can only be as good as its leader. Yet, because political parties are integral to parliamentary democracy, their leaders must be visionaries who are clued to the economic challenges facing the state today and who can provide both social, economic and political leadership and thereby guide the rank and file to think big, dream big and attempt great things. Leaders who behave like pygmies will stunt the growth of the party and with it that of the followers.

One of the greatest misfortunes of the Congress party in Meghalaya is to be led by a person who has not won an election in the past 15 years. This trend of selecting a failed politician or one who is a backdoor entrant is demoralizing for the party. We only have to look at Sonia Gandhi's example. She is a crowd puller and has always been sure of retaining her Amethi seat mainly because of her ability to nurse that constituency. Sonia may fall short on many counts but she certainly does not use the party to promote her business interests. This cannot be said of Congress leaders in Meghalaya. Naturally Sonia commands the respect of not just her party followers but also of those who admire her tenacity of purpose. Unfortunately, the lady does not demand similar rigour from her comrades in the states, particularly the party presidents.

In the 21st century the leader of a political party is expected to direct the energies of party MLAs to good governance. He should be in a position to demand accountability and the caliber to censure non-performers. After all if a party MLA fails he becomes a liability. To the youth, a party president should be a source of wisdom from whom they draw inspiration and guidance. Party presidents should initiate debates within the party on the budget, on inflation, on issues of development or the lack of it, on poverty reduction programmes and a host of other issues that directly affect the common man. This requires uncommon astuteness and the willingness to listen. The problem with political leaders is their inability to listen to others and the foolishness to believe they know everything.

When money becomes the crucial factor in deciding electoral fortunes, a political party has no other way to go but downhill. This is the Congress party's biggest challenge. The recent Supreme Court directive to the CBI to ascertain the citizenship of MK Subba, a Congress party stalwart from Assam should inform us about the depths to which the party has sunk. Subba, an alleged criminal who escaped from a jail in Nepal and them came to Sikkim to start a new life with a new name, later made his millions from the timber trade in Arunachal Pradesh. Seeing how easy it is to gain entry into the Congress merely by greasing a few palms Subba contested the MP election from Tezpur and won. His citizenship has been questioned several times over but the CBI mysteriously comes up with a blank as far as Subba's antecedents are concerned.

Now Subba has many good friends in Meghalaya. He started his lottery business here by bribing his way through the Secretariat where he found many facilitators. Despite repeated failure to pay up the contracted lottery revenue to the State, Subba continues to do business here. He even set up the controversial online lottery in spite of vehement public protests. It just goes to show that only a rotten system will promote a rotten deal. Some of our senior politicians are bum pals with Subba. So too our bureaucrats, many of whom enjoy the lottery magnate's hospitality in Delhi.

In 1994, Subba almost succeeded in taking control of MeSEB for a measly sum of Rs 327 crores. It was the timely intervention of late BB Lyngdoh, AH Scott Lyngdoh and a few others that saved the day. The then Congress government headed by Mr SC Marak was agreeable to handing over the MeSEB to MS Associates (Subba's flagship company) and even to allow the firm to pay the amount of 327 crores in instalments. How can we forget such a catastrophic deal which would have mortgaged Meghalaya to Subba forever? Such are the antecedents of the Congress party. It would be sad indeed if the people of Meghalaya were to forget such economic blunders or shall we call them intentional attempted scams

I believe it is the duty of a media person to remind people of events that have the potential to repeat themselves with devastating results. History is truly the only teacher. Those who refuse to learn from it are condemned to repeat those grave errors and throw the next generation to the wolves.

Sir,

The news item 'Erring cops dismissed from service' (ST, January 18) has created concern among the police personnel at the lower level. It is a well-known fact that in the Police Training Centre, Goeragre, West Garo Hills, all training activities remain more or less suspended during the Christmas and New Year. The training programme resumes after January 4, 2007. Then how can the dismissal of 25 RCs on ground of deserting the camp arise, and be justified when almost all the RCs from Goeragre training centre left for home during the festive season. In that case, action should have been taken against all the RCs in the training centre, why only a few? Now, the fact is that all the RCs had taken prior permission from the in-charge concerned, or the so-called Guruji. Then, why a false charge of deserting the post had been brought against these RCs and why have the senior officers dismissed them from service in haste, when for similar offence in the past on several occasions, the RCs were just given simple punishment. Even the officials tried to justify their case by pointing out the ruling of the Supreme Court in this matter, as though the RCs have deserted the camp for the first time in the history of all the training centres in Meghalaya. The incidence of the dismissal of RCs is a matter of serious concern and gives rise to several questions, and raises doubt about the intention of the senior officials who misused their power. No doubt the RCs ought to be punished for the wrong act done in the bus, but that should not have resulted in their dismissal. I think that the top officials had gone wrong in this matter, and they had taken a biased decision.

Yours etc.
U.M.

Sir,

Apropos the newsitem 'Erring cops dismissed from service' (ST, January 18), we want to share some facts with the general public and the authorities to think about.

1 We are being told that the RCs were discharged for desertion of their posts and that they were on unauthorized leave. Actually, the RCs were issued leave, through proper papers, till January 2, 2007 by the authorities. These RCs joined on January 4, 2007 and thus were absent only for two days, i.e., January 3 and 4, 2007. Whether this can be termed as "desertion" is doubtful.

2. The RCs were forcibly made to sign a joining letter dated January 2, 2007, when they actually joined on January 4, 2007 at the training centre.

3. During the bus incident, the protest came only from some of the RCs themselves and not the three passengers, who during the journey did not protest at all, and the CD was played only when the bus started from Paikan and not as soon as the bus started from Shillong. (This elaboration is not intended to justify the crime but stating the real facts)

4. Most importantly, when the RCs identified the culprit who was actually responsible for the night bus incident, why were all 25 RCs discharged?

5. Why did the authorities concerned carry out such flimsy investigation to identify and punish the real culprits when their own people were involved. It seems that they were actually working under some external pressures?

6. Finally, is it simply a coincidence that all these 25 discharged RCs are non-tribals?

While the culprits need to be punished, where is the justice in punishing an entire group for acts of individuals? Besides, the manner in which the entire issue has been dealt with by the police authorities at the training centre reflects an attitude that is discriminatory. I hope that the government, especially the Home Minister, will look into this issue. However, I am not very sure whether there is a Government in Meghalaya!

Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request.