By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Hitting out at the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) for calling bandh in Garo Hills, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma has said there must be some ‘smart people’ who are advising the banned militant outfit to hold these agitations.
“I am sure that the GNLA is holding these agitations on the advice of someone,” Dr Sangma said after releasing his Government’s performance “report card” of the past two years titled “Promises Kept,” at the Yojana Bhavan here on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said the main intention of asking the militant outfit to hold the agitation is to derail the implementation of various developmental programmes.
“We would definitely find out those who are responsible in instigating the outfit to hold this kind of agitations which has paralyzed the whole of Garo Hills,” he said.
Dr Sangma’s statement has come at a time when the GNLA has forced a nearly week-long shutdown in Garo Hills.
On holding talks with GNLA, Dr Sangma said, “How can the Government hold dialogue with someone who is already a deserter?”
While admitting that backwardness and lack of opportunities have prompted youth to join militancy, he said another major factor which has contributed towards young people joining insurgent groups is prevailing flaw in the education system.
“We are all aware that our education system does not make the youth employable. The lack of employability among our youth which attracts them to militancy,” Dr Sangma said, adding, “We are committed to root out militancy from the State so that we can provide sustained peace for development and progress”.
He said the priority of the Government is to eradicate poverty and backwardness.
While referring to the long pending inter-State boundary dispute with Assam, the Chief Minister said the Government is committed to resolve the vexed problem once and for all.
Stating the Assam Government had rejected the idea of constituting a ‘boundary commission’ which was adopted by the State Legislative Assembly, he said there was a need on the part of his Government to re-strategize its approach by engaging Assam for arriving at an early mutually acceptable settlement to the long pending issue.
“We have sought to evolve an institutionalize approach to deal with the sensitive issue of influx and many concrete steps has been towards this end,” the Chief Minister said.
Besides creation of the full fledge Anti-Infiltration Directorate under the Home (Police), he said that the Government also sanctioned the deployment of Labour inspectors at the block level to help in the registration of the migrant workers.