Shillong, Oct 09: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) strongly condemns the Conrad K. Sangma-led Government for its continued failure to act against Advocate General Shri Amit Kumar, despite the growing opposition from the legal fraternity and serious questions surrounding his conduct and the functioning of his office.
The conduct of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is deeply disappointing and unacceptable. He cannot repeatedly give assurances to the legal fraternity and then allow the very same assurances to be rendered meaningless. If the Chief Minister’s word carries no value, then what credibility remains with his Government?
Even more disturbing are the questions surrounding public expenditure and appointments connected with the Advocate General’s office. When information concerning payments and legal expenditure is sought under the RTI Act and the Government refuses to provide satisfactory transparency, it naturally raises the question:WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO HIDE?
Why should the people of Meghalaya be kept in the dark about how crores of rupees of public money are being spent on legal representation?
Why does the Government continue to rely on an outsider when Meghalaya has senior, competent and highly qualified local advocates capable of holding the office of Advocate General?
And why does Chief Minister Conrad Sangma appear more concerned about protecting one individual than protecting the credibility of his Government and the dignity of the legal institution of the State?
The situation has now reached a point where the ongoing confrontation has affected the functioning of courts and, ultimately, ordinary citizens seeking justice are suffering because of the Government’s obstinacy.
CoMSO makes it clear that the responsibility for this crisis lies squarely with the Conrad Sangma Government. The Chief Minister had every opportunity to resolve the matter but has chosen to remain silent and protect the status quo.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma must understand that Meghalaya is not the private domain of the Government, and public institutions cannot be run according to personal preferences.
The Chief Minister’s continued silence and inaction are increasingly being perceived as a deliberate decision to protect Amit Kumar rather than uphold public accountability, said Mr. Balkarin Ch. Marak,General Secretary, CoMSO.
