The 19-month-old E K Mawlong government in Meghalaya received a major jolt with the resignation of state power minister Martel Mukhim Wednesday night over the controversial Meghalaya House deal in Kolkata. Mukhim's resignation came a day after the chief minister refused to step down as demanded by senior citizens of the state.
The power minister, known to be a Mawlong-detractor, said, ''I am resigning on moral ground as the present government under your (Mawlong's) leadership has failed to live up to the aspirations of the people''.
His resignation also contradicted the claim made by the chief minister two days back that the ruling United Democratic Party(UDP) was unanimous in their support to him.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party, also a partner of the government, has threatened to pull out unless the chief minister scrap the ''illegal and one-sided'' Meghalaya House deal before November 9.

NCP national general secretary P A Sangma, who was in Shillong held an emergency party meeting in Shillong and set two other conditions for Mawlong if their support was sought.
The party demanded General Administrative Department(GAD) minister Nimarson Momin to be ''dropped or shifted,'' along with ''removal, transfer or suspension'' of Chief Secretary J P Singh and GAD secretary A Som.
Bureau Report