Shillong: The Meghalaya Assembly was adjourned for the day on Monday after paying rich tributes to sit Independent legislator Syntar Klas Sunn who passed away on the first day of the autumn session of the State Assembly on Friday due to COVID-19.
On the second day of the autumn session on Monday, Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh announced the suspension of the question hour and asked Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to initiate the obituary references.
Expressing his profound grief at the passing away of Sunn, the Chief Minister said that it was the first time in the history of the State that a sitting member of the house passed away during the assembly session.
Recalling the contributions of Late Sunn to the house through his erudite deliberations during the past three and a half years through the kind of materials and inputs in the assembly, Conrad said, “Not just as a legislator but even as a human being he was a very good man and a person who always respect everybody. (His passing away) is a great loss to this House and the state as a whole.”
“When it came to question, resolution or any kind of debate, I don’t think there were many like him who used to do homework in detail…He already had the answer to the question he was asking,” he said, recalling the courteous behaviour of Sunn and was always brief and to-the-point during interactions.
Paying glowing tributes to the memory of the deceased public leader, Leader of Opposition Dr Mukul Manda Sangma recalled his high level of deliberations and discussions in the house.
“Ever since his election to the Meghalaya Assembly as an independent candidate in2018, Sunn used to raise several questions engaging the chair despite being in the ruling side,” the leader of opposition remarked.
Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Health and Family Welfare, Prestone Tynsong described the late technocrat-turned politician as the “architect” of the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme, which is running well.
Recalling that Sunn had visited him 12 days back and discussed on few issues relating to developmental activities in his constituency, Tynsong said, “I had asked him have you given vaccination, he said no I have not. So I requested him to take the vaccination, but unfortunately succumbed to Covid-19 before he could get himself inoculated against the virus.”
Tynsong mentioned the tremendous contributions towards the development of sports in the State by Sunn, who was himself an avid footballer and whose son is a star footballer of the State.
The Deputy Chief Minister also mentioned that with the passing away of Sunn, the State has lost five sitting legislators within three-and-half years since 2018.
Former Assembly Speaker and opposition Congress legislator, Charles Pyngrope said that everybody in the assembly had benefitted from the rich experiences of Sunn.
He mentioned the immense contributions of the late legislator, who was president of the Shillong Sports Association, towards the development of sports.
Pyrope also recalled how as an engineer with the Public Health Engineering, Sunn had promptly responded to his request and arranged for the supply of groundwater to the people of the Umpling Village.
Home Minister Lakhmen Rymbui stated that the passing away of Mr SK Sunn, who was a far-sighted bureaucrat and a legislator, was a loss for the state as a whole.
After the members paid tributes to the memory of Sunn, Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh rose to pay homage to the late leader and said that he had always done his homework well before coming to the house.
The Speaker mentioned the constructive debates of the late legislator and issues about people that he would raise.
Stating that the state has lost a great leader in the passing away of Sunn, the Speaker conveyed condolences on behalf of all members of the assembly to the bereaved family.
The members of the assembly stood in silence for two minutes, after which the house was adjourned for the day to meet again at 10 am on September 14th to continue with the autumn session.
