Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
Chief Minister and National People’s Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma on February 19 said that many people think that he is soft when it comes to dealing with law and order situations.
Sangma said that in the last five years, whenever there was a law and order situation, his government has always tried to ensure that none of the citizens of the state lose their lives.
“There were many law and order situations. If we wanted we could have ordered firing but could we solve the problem by doing so,” Sangma said during an election campaign for Nongthymmai NPP candidate Jasmine Lyngdoh at R&R Colony.
The CM also informed the gathering that once when there was a law and order situation, he was advised to call in the army to control the situation.
He said that his decision to work in a balanced way must not be seen as him being soft or weak.
“There is a lot of difference between softness and weakness. If you think that shooting people is a strength, anyone can do that,” the NPP national president said.
He said that if during a tense situation an order to fire is issued and lives are lost, thereafter for a prolonged period there will be no peace in the state, and that is a difficult decision to make.
Sangma said that handling this kind of a situation is not a simple thing but it is with the trust and cooperation of the people that a law and order situation is resolved.
“But for this we need a government which is stable and strong,” the Chief Minister said.
He also told the gathering that this time people think that the NPP is the only party which can win an absolute majority.
“If we have a majority government then we will have stability and all the problems of the state can be solved,” the NPP national president said.