Shillong, Jan 10: Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma has backed the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) 2016, introduced during his tenure as chief minister, and accused the current NPP-led MDA government of overstepping its legislative powers by proposing amendment to the principal Act.
“The government’s proposed amendment has failed, but the principal Act (MRSSA) has not failed because they wanted to amend which goes beyond their legislative jurisdiction,” Sangma told reporters on Saturday.
Referring to the alleged loopholes in MRSSA 2016, he dared the government to draft a new law to protect the indigenous people’s interests.
Accusing the government of having a mala fide intention, he said, “The (MDA) government had a mala fide intention to make this MRSSA, 2016 ineffective or wanted to put in a cold storage…”
Questioning the government’s legislative competence, he said, “I have cautioned the government at the time of this exercise but they didn’t listen to me… I pity their legislative competence.”
He also accused the government of lying to the people about the facilitation centre, saying, “The High Court has said that in absence of proper guidelines, this facilitation centre should not operate… They (government) didn’t do their job… that is why MRSSA couldn’t be implemented…”
Asserting efficacy of the principal Act, he said, “MRSSA is designed to protect our people and maintain the demography of our tribes.”
The Leader of Opposition also rebutted Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong’s allegation that the previous Mukul Sangma‑led government committed a blunder by inserting entry‑exit provisions only in the Rules, not in the principal Act.
“He (author) was also there while we were discussing and if he wants to somehow take shelter under this kind of misinterpretation of the mandate of the law, I pity him,” Sangma reacted.
