Mukul, colleague verbal clash continue

From A STAFF CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, Dec 8: Verbal attacks and counter attacks among the State Chief Minister and other former Cabinet ministers who traveled outside the State has taken centre stage. As reported exclusively by The Sentinel on the mudslinging between Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and his former Cabinet colleague Prestone Tynsong, the Chief Minister talking to this correspondent wondered whether the erstwhile minister knows about protocol in deciding the Chief Minister’s trip.

“When a Chief Minister makes any trip within the country or abroad, he has to go with security clearance,” stated Sangma, adding, “I’m not duty bound to inform my Cabinet colleagues.” Rubbishing the charges of his critiques, the Chief Minister said that they “really don’t know the procedures that have been in place”. Taking a swipe at the sojourns of some ministers in the recent past, he stated that the State Ministers can travel abroad only with the approval of the

Chief Minister. He also pointed out that that the expenditure of any Minister’s tour outside the State is borne out from the state exchequer.

The Chief Minister took a fresh dig at the former PHE Minister Prestone Tynsong by raking up once again his frequent visits to Kolkata. “Kolkata is fabulous but it is not a centre where we can get developmental schemes. Why did ministers frequent there and what was their agenda?” asked Sangma.

The statement came a day after Tynsong outrightly asked as to why the Chief Minister took foreign tours without informing his colleagues.