SHILLONG:
The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Thursday asked the state government to speed up the process of notifying the members of the expert committee for immediate review of the state reservation policy.
A delegation led by the VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit also raised various issues concerning the state during a meeting with the Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma.
“The party urged upon the state government to pay serious attention towards speeding up the notification to constitute the members of the committee for the speedy review of the policy- the demand for which has been felt for a long time,” Basaiawmoit told reporters.
He said the chief minister assured the delegation that the search committee has presented enough number of panel of names as members of the expert committee. However, the committee is still trying to identify more names to head as the Chairman and that the process would not take more than two-three weeks.
On the law and order situation in the state, Basaiawmoit said the party made it clear to the chief minister that it was rather shocking that the district administration made a startling revelation that Shillong was an unsafe city based on a few stray incidents.
“The promulgation of Section 144 restricting the livelihood and liberties of the citizens is unacceptable to the people and the party. This uncalled for intervention in fact, revealed the weakness of the state government to maintain the law and order even at the slightest of disturbance,” he said.
Raising the issue relating to the exploitation of farmers, the VPP leader said that the chief minister was impressed upon by the party to look into the problem of systemic exploitation of farmers in the state by the middle men. He said it is a common knowledge that the farmers experienced inhumane and unexplainable cuts of their produce at the time of marketing which hugely impacted their rights. Injustice of any kind meted out to any section of the society particularly the vulnerable section of the society is unacceptable.
Further, Basaiawmoit also said that the party has also reiterated its stand that the promulgation of odd/even formula for public transport is discriminatory and an anti-poor measure that needs withdrawal. Solution to the problem of traffic jams is not by taking such an immature and imbalanced consideration.
“We also urged upon the chief minister to look into the issue of inflation of essential commodities and electricity which has affected the life and business of the life of the citizens in the state,” he said.