Thursday, January 16, 2025
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Hold KSU leaders responsible

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Editor,

I totally oppose the road blockade call by KSU on 10th May. At the same time I salute the government for taking firm action to restore law and order in the city. The call for road blockade is not for any noble purpose but a selfish one, to free KSU leaders arrested for violent crimes. It is a deliberate attempt to make the common man pay for the misdeeds of KSU leaders so that the state government will come under pressure. In the past such tactics by KSU have worked against weak governments. Probably that is why they feel emboldened to apply the same tactics again. But KSU is not dealing with an ignorant and frightened citizenry as in the past. Nor is it dealing with a weak government who will bow to such pressure. The government is now in a position of strength with the full support of the public and must make it clear to KSU that its leaders will pay for any untoward incident that arises as a result of the road blockade. Miscreants cannot be allowed to hold our society to ransom.

Yours etc.,

B Marbaniang

Shillong 14

Back to the old tricks

 Editor,

It’s starting again. Bandhs and blockades are back to haunt us. And for what cause? For 35 years the KSU leadership has been unable to progress beyond bandhs and road blocks for every silly reason. I blame past governments for this state of affairs. If they had honestly worked for the people of the State they would have been in a position to take a firm stand in such cases. When the government is corrupt it doesn’t have a leg to stand on. This is the reason KSU has been getting away with the same old tricks very time. The people know that both KSU and government are equally guilty for the sorry state of affairs. So give the people a break from your bandhs and blockades, for God’s sake!

Yours etc.,

Kenneth Jyrwa

Shillong -21

 Tenuous claims

 Editor,

The claims made by the former Speaker Charles Pyngrope don’t seem to hold water. He says that the MLAs are to be blamed since they hardly raised questions related to the passage of any Bill before it is enacted such as the recent Private Universities Bill. In fact as the Speaker of the House he should have been proactive and also unbiased towards any changes or suggestions being brought by members. Unfortunately most Speakers display loyalty to the Party rather to the peoples’ representatives. So what do we have to say in the case of the Lokayukta Bill that was passed in a hushed and hurried manner by the Chief Minister without bringing any discussion on the floor for a debate? Now isn’t the former Speaker contradicting his own statements? The government should review and amend changes in the private universities act by taking the views of the public and representatives along so that such unpleasant incidents do not recur in future.

Yours etc.,

Dominic S. Wankhar

Shillong-3

 Invoke ESMA against road blockade

 Editor,

The Essential Services Maintenance Act of 1981 was enacted to provide for the maintenance of certain essential services and the normal life of the community. Such essential services include any transport service for the carriage of passengers or goods by land, water or air. This makes the Road Blockade call on May 10 a prime candidate for invocation of the Act. It gives sweeping powers to the government to impose harsh penalties on anyone who is reasonably suspected of having committed an offense under this act. It empowers the government to take such persons into preventive custody if needed. The Road Blockade is an illegal form of strike since it has not been called to protect the interests of workers in a particular field of employment. Rather it is a tool to pressurize the government to subvert the judicial process by freeing persons accused of criminal activities. It has the potential to cause disturbances which may lead to loss of life and property. The Government is therefore duty bound to ensure the maintenance of essential services and to protect the normal life of its citizens. Unless the Khasi Students Union revokes the illegal call for road blockade, the government must invoke the ESMA which has become the need of the hour in Meghalaya.

Yours etc.,

Daisy Kharkongor

Via email

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