SHILLONG:
Joining the band-wagon, Meghalaya Congress, on May 27, said that it is high-time for the state government to review the State Reservation Policy, adding that an old policy should be reviewed every ten years.
“People have questioned our silence on the reservation issue. My reply is simple – We are not silent; we are being careful. Yes, our response to the issue was delayed because as the oldest party in the country, whatever decision we take, we ensure that it doesn’t affect or harm anyone,” Congress MLA from Mawhati Charles Marngar said.
He said that the party is serious about this issue, adding that from the very beginning, Congress has discussed about this issue. “During the all-party meeting called by the government on May 19, we made our stand clear and that was the prospective implementation of the roster system,” Marngar said.
“I urge the people not be misled. Please understand this – Congress is not supporting the government but as a party, when the government said it will institute an expert committee to study and review the implementation of the roster, we welcomed this move,” he added.
Furthermore, he informed that Congress will institute a committee, to be headed by Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Vincent H Pala and comprising all the party MLAs, to study, discuss and deliberate at length the reservation policy and the roster system.
Asserting that reservation policy is over 50 years old, the Congress MLA said that an old policy should be reviewed every ten years. “We are aware of this point and as was done in other states of the country, it is high for the state of Meghalaya to also review the reservation policy,” Marngar said.
To a question on the hunger strike called by the president of the Voice of the People Party (VPP), Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, Marngar said, “We don’t want to comment on what other parties are doing. We are not here to train our guns at any party or any individual. We are here to clarify the stand of the Congress.”
“Very soon, we will come out and make public our resolution on the issue,” Marngar added.