SHILLONG:
Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, on April 17, said the fight for a “fair and balanced” Reservation Policy is not against any particular community or tribe but against the government.
Addressing the gathering during the first phase of the mass awareness programme on the reservation policy, organised by the VPP at Madah Heh, Mawlai in Shillong on April 17, Basaiawmoit said, “This is not a movement between the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo communities but it is a fight directed at the government who is not very keen in resolving this issue.”
The VPP is organising a mass awareness programme to familiarise the residents of Khasi-Jaintia region with the issue of reservation policy and the roster system. The VPP has been demanding for a review of the state reservation policy even as it stated that the 40:40 ratio under the policy was biased and unfair to the Khasi-Jaintia communities, who are more in numbers than the Garo community.
Welcoming the various social organisations that have come out in support of the VPP, Basaiawmoit urged the groups to tread carefully and not to add fuel to the fire as he asserted that this is a fight against the government and not any community.
Furthermore, he said the government should form a special committee and involve leaders from both the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo communities to deliberate on this issue and come out with an amicable solution.
The VPP leader also claimed that there are a few government spies who attended the meeting just to get a glimpse of the public’s response to the VPP’s call and added that their ‘fight for justice’ will continue.