Rags to riches tale of J Dringwell Rymbai

Shillong, Jun 15 (UNI) Seventy two year old J Dringwell Rymbai was born in a poor family and rose to the post of Meghalaya Chief Minister by dint of perservance.

The soft-spoken educationist, known as ''Mr Clean'', joined active politics in 1983.

He was elected from Jirang constituency on Congress ticket and became the Deputy Speaker of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in the same year.

He was re-elected in 1993 from the same constituency and was elevated to post of Speaker of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on October 12, 1993. He was re-elected to the sixth legislative assembly of Meghalaya in 1998 and become Meghalaya Minister in-charge Food and Civil Supply.

In 2003, he contested the seventh Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election and was re-elected for the third consectutive term from Jirang constituency. He was inducted in the Lapang led ministry as Community and Rural Development&Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

Being his ''trusted aide'' and senior Congress leader, Mr Lapang retained Mr Rymbai in the downsized ministry allocating him with Parliamentary Affairs, Taxation, Tourism and Fisheries departments.

On June 6, at least 17 rebel Congress MLAs faxed a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to replace Mr DD Lapang with Mr.J D Rymbai as the leader of the CLP.

After eight days, Mr Rymbai broke his silence singing the chrous of the rebel Congress MLAs. Mr Rymbai on June 13 night, faxed a messsage to AICC president saying ''he is ready to take over the mantle from Mr Lapang as the CLP.

Prior to joining active politics, the newly inducted Chief Minister did his early education in Bhoilymbong present Ri-Bhoi district and then joined St. Anthony's College where he had to leave halfway his degree course due to family problems.

Mr Rymbai served as an Assitant Teacher in a government Munken Basic School in Bhoilymbong and later he obtained his graduate degree in Arts from Synod College.

He obtained Bachelor of Education degree from Shillong.

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