Kyndiah asks to raise the size of ministry in North East

Shillong, Jun 20(UNI) Dismissing that downsizing was the reason behind former Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang's downfall, Union Minister in-charge for Tribal Affairs P R Kyndiah today said an amendment had become necessary following ''certain imbalances'' Breaking his silence after Mr Lapang's ouster, Mr Kyndiah said, '' Downsizing is the main reason of instabilty in the region, but what had happened in Meghalaya was different. '' An amendment had become necessary following ''certain imbalances '' which caused ''difficulties'' for states in the region, which had representations from various communities, Kyndiah told UNI exclusively at his Honey Wood residence here while refusing to divulge the exact reason of Mr Lapang's downfall.

However, in other states of the region downsizing has created political turmoil as it could not fulfil the aspirations of every tribe and sub-tribe, the senior Congress leader said.

'' Small ministries cannot fulfill the aspirations of all, be it in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh Manipur or even Meghalaya, '' the Union Minister added.

The veteran Congress leader pointed out that states like Mizoram and Sikkim having a 40-member Assembly or less were getting more representation in the government, while states like Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunchal Pradesh and Manipur with 60 seats had to remain content with a same-sized cabinet of 12 members.

Therefore, Mr Kyndiah felt that there is a need to ammend the Anti-Defection Act passed by the BJP led NDA government.

The Union Minister, also in-charge of DoNER, said many Chief Ministers of the affected states from the region have suggested the need of slightly larger ministries.

The matter will be taken up with AICC president Sonia Gandhi and other senior Congress, he added.

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