Shillong: Opposition MLA and former Meghalaya urban affairs minister Ampareen Lyngdoh walked out of the assembly on Friday as a mark of protest against Meghalaya Governor Ganga Prasad addressing the house in Hindi instead of English – the official language in Meghalaya assembly.
Ampareen, who won her third consecutive election as Congress candidate from East Shillong, said the Governor had disrespected the sentiments of the people of Meghalaya by speaking in Hindi.
"Democracy by its nature promotes mutual respect. I had to put my foot down when the Governor went on speaking in Hindi for 7-8 minutes, skipping paragraphs and even going to the extent of calling Garo Hills as 'Gora Hills'. We don't have any such place in Meghalaya," said Ampareen.
The opposition leader further said that any attempt by the Centre to promote 'One Nation, One Language' concept in Meghalaya will be vehemently opposed.
"By speaking in Hindi, the Governor was actually oppressing us. Being a learned man, he should have respected our choice of language. If he had to make statements in a language other than the official language, he should have given a notice to the speaker and followed the process," she said.
Governor Prasad, the 17th governor of Meghalaya sworn in on September 30, 2017, was a member of the legislative council in Bihar for 18 years and a former leader of opposition in the Bihar assembly. He was a businessman by profession but started his political career as a Jan Sangh member in 1967 and held various organizational posts in the Sangh as well as in BJP.
Ganga Prasad replaced Governor Banwarilal Purohit who was temporarily appointed to the position on the exit of the previous Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan.
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