Shillong, September 17: The Congress party has strongly criticized the National People’s Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government for its alleged blatant disregard towards women and minority representation in governance. This came a day after Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma effected a major cabinet reshuffle by inducting eight new ministers. However, the present cabinet has no women representation after East Shillong legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh was dropped.
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President of the Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress (MPMC) Joplyn Shylla expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to appoint women leaders as ministers, despite having competent leaders within the ruling coalition. Shylla stated that the government’s decision is a betrayal of the matrilineal society’s values, where women are held in high esteem. “It’s a betrayal of the very foundation of our matrilineal society, where women have always been held in the highest respect,” Shylla said.
She pointed out that the absence of women in the Council of Ministers is a glaring injustice, given the state’s high female workforce participation rate.
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“In a state where the female workforce participation is higher than that of men, the absence of women in the Council of Ministers is a glaring injustice and denial of rightful representation,” she added.
Shylla accused the NPP-BJP government of promoting cartel politics, sidelining women’s voices, and neglecting the state’s ethics and traditions. “Instead of empowering women, the NPP-BJP government has chosen to promote cartel politics, sidelining the voices of women and neglecting the ethics and traditions of our society,” she said.
MPCC Secretary Manuel Badwar alleged that the cabinet has been turned into “family politics” and a “family cartel.” He said it does not represent the public at large and appears to be driven by personal interests. Badwar emphasized the importance of representation from women and minority groups in the cabinet, particularly in a state like Meghalaya. “It is important to see that there is some representation from the women folks, especially from the minority perspective. Women folks have to play a very important role, especially in tackling issues like crimes and law and order,” he said.
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Badwar highlighted the state’s worsening law and order situation, citing recent incidents of crimes against children. “Only women can understand the children better. Having them in the pillars of power would be very important,” he added.
He also criticized the cabinet’s composition, suggesting it has turned into a “business cartel.”
“We just believe that this cabinet is definitely merging into something which is very much like a business cartel,” Badwar said.
(Newmai News Network)