Prevailing situation forces CM to cancel Geneva visit
SHILLONG: Taking a dig at the pro-ILP groups, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma has said, “demands should be realistic and should not hinder the economic and cultural growth of the State.”
Dr Sangma said that being a region with potential, introduction of a law which segregates the various communities of the North East will hinder the cultural and economic growth of the State and the region as a whole.
The Chief Minister was addressing the delegates from the Southeast Asian countries and India at the valedictory function of the five-day International Youth Camp being organised by city-based Asian Confluence and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) here at Shri Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture on Saturday.
“Is it possible to segregate ourselves from the other communities despite the fact that Meghalaya is a naturally and culturally rich state?” the Chief Minister asked.
The Chief Minister asserted that continued demands for new laws and regulations to tackle various problems of the State imply that the system is incapable of enforcing the prevailing laws.
Without mincing his words, Dr Sangma said the people of the State need to shed their ‘self-centric attitude’ and ‘come out of cocoons’ for a better future.
Determined to strengthen the existing laws to tackle the current problems of the State, the Chief Minister urged the youth to be the medium of change that will make the local communities vibrant.
“We need to connect ourselves with other communities to showcase our culture to the world and also to enable the youth to have a capacity to be accumulative and inclusive in their thoughts,” Dr Sangma said adding that there is need to trigger the minds of the future policy makers of the State so that they can come up with ideas having multiplier effects that can help address any problem in Meghalaya.
Foreseeing Shillong as a centre of sports, arts and culture Dr Sangma said, “There is a need for integration with other states of the north east and the neighbouring countries so as to create an enabling environment for foreign markets to set in. This would include developing friendship within the country and with other countries.”
“The state alone cannot bring about this development; we need the support, cooperation and joint effort of the other north eastern states to make this dream a reality,” added the Chief Minister.
The five-day International Youth Camp witnessed various deliberations on various issues like the need to harness human capital, development of entrepreneurial skills, conservation of forest by keeping the community in the forefront, security and empowerment of women and children, strengthening of trade between the north east and South East Asia etc.
The camp was attended by youths from the entire Eastern Indian region (the NE states, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa), neighboring countries of Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.
CM cancels Geneva visit
Meanwhile, the prevailing law and order situation in the State has forced the Chief Minister to cancel his trip to Geneva to attend the 24th session of the UN Human Rights Council. “I was compelled to cancel my trip to Geneva due to the prevailing law and order situation in the state,” Dr Sangma said.