As he walked in, accompanied by his ceremonial guard and an entourage of officials, the empty chairs draped in white stood out like a sore thumb. The first day of the budget session of the Meghalaya assembly today saw an unprecedented scene with empty opposition seats during the address of Governor Tathagata Roy. The Congress declared it was boycotting the governor's speech as a mark of protest against his controversial tweet last month in which he endorsed a social boycott of Kashmiris in wake of the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that left 40 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force dead.