Shillong: Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma on Monday confirmed the resignation of Deputy Speaker Timothy D. Shira and announced that a new Deputy Speaker will be elected on September 12, the final day of the ongoing autumn session.
Sangma said he received Shira’s resignation letter earlier in the day and immediately convened an emergency meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC). The committee reviewed the legislative calendar and fixed the date for the election.
While the Speaker did not elaborate on the reasons, Shira himself later told reporters that he stepped down following instructions from his party leadership.
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“I have full faith in the chief minister. He is my favourite chief minister, so I cannot say no,” Shira remarked, adding that he was “quite satisfied” with the decision and harboured no resentment.
When asked if he might be accommodated in the state cabinet during a reshuffle, the former Deputy Speaker said such matters were solely the prerogative of the chief minister.
“I don’t know whether I will be taken into the cabinet, sent elsewhere, or left out,” he said.
On the question of who would succeed him, Shira maintained that he had no role in the nomination process and would not make any suggestions.
