SHILLONG:
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, on July 4, said that the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government has been very proactive about the issue of Inner Line Permit (ILP) and has taken the “bold” decision of passing a resolution in the assembly but issues relating to its implementation are beyond the state government’s jurisdiction.
“Issues such as the implementation of ILP requires a lot of push; a lot of lobbying and these are one of those things that are beyond the Meghalaya government’s jurisdiction. Therefore, we have done our part by passing resolutions very strongly in the Assembly, which has never been done before,” said the chief minister.
The Chief Minister also added that the same goes to inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the 8th Schedule to the Constitution of India and the vexed border issue with neighbouring Assam.
“We are showing a lot of our concerns to popularise and to make our languages richer. We are the first government in past 50 years to pass resolution on the issue. Even in the border issue, we are the first ones who actually visited the border villages and managed to sign a pact with the Assam government in the presence of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and officials and managed to resolve the issue,” said Conrad.
The Chief Minister comments came as a reaction to a surprise demonstration by members of the Hynniewtrep Achik National Movement (HANM) in front of the Secretariat’s main gate. Stating that concerns of the pressure groups and the public in regard will always be there, the Chief Minister said, “I think the public will judge and they know how the government has taken these three issues as its highest and top priority.”
Earlier in the day, HANM members, who made a sudden appearance outside the gate of the main Secretariat building caught police personnel unaware, staged a demonstration against the government’s alleged failure to address a slew of issues, including implementation of ILP and include Khasi and Garo languages in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution despite adopting resolutions in the assembly. They also raised slogans against the government for forcing the teachers to sleep in the streets.
“We ask the MDA government not to play with the future of the students, we need teachers back in school. Implement the demands of the teachers immediately. Today is just the beginning. Don’t compel us to take to the streets every day because, we will do so even if there is a law and order breakdown,” warned Lamphrang Kharbani, president of movement.
When the agitating ad hoc teachers, who were sitting in protest near the Additional Secretariat parking lot, came to know about the sloganeering, the spokesperson of Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM), Mayborn Lyngdoh and others rushed to spot to pacify the HANM members.
The ad hoc teachers asked the HANM members not to shout slogans since the cabinet meeting was on and the government’s decision may not come in favour of the former.
He said the HNAM also demanded the government to ensure immediate implementation of the ILP, inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages, relocation of Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong, and resolving the boundary dispute with Assam without comprising with tribal lands before 2023.
“This shows that the ministers have failed to push these demands and when they go to Delhi, they are only interested in requesting for developmental projects for the state,” Kharbani said.