Govt verifying reports of KSU leader joining HNLC ranks: CM
SHILLONG: A day after KSU vice president Frederick Kharmawphlang created a storm by announcing that he has resigned from the influential students’ body and has joined the banned militant outfit HNLC, Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma said that the Government would verify whether the former KSU leader had been maintaining prolonged association with the militant outfit.
“I am aware that he (Kharmawphlang) had joined the HNLC. But we would have to establish whether this person was having any nexus with the banned militant outfit before joining the group,” Dr. Sangma said here on Wednesday.
While making it clear that the Government has to pursue an aggressive policy to deal with the root cause of militancy in the State, the Chief Minister stressed on the need to reach out to the youth and leaders of various organisations to change their mindset.
Reacting to a query on whether the Government would take the leaders of the KSU and FKJGP and others into confidence to prevent their members from following the path taken by Kharmawphlang, Dr. Sangma said that the root cause of militancy has to be addressed in totality and not in isolation.
“Today the problem of militancy is galore in this part of the country and inspite of the best efforts of the Government to neutralize militant activities and prevent mushrooming of various outfits, things are not happening as was expected. Therefore, there is a need to aggressively pursue any strategy that would be capable of addressing the root cause of the problem,” the Chief Minister said.
While commenting on Kharmawphlang’s allegations that the Government, instead of implementing the ILP in the State, was taking recourse to time buying tactics by turning the NGOs into scapegoats for studying 52 existing laws on Influx since it is the year of election, the Chief Minister stated that the same could be the tactics of the opposition and ‘other forces’ who have be instrumental in creating that kind of mindset in the minds of the people of the State.
“This is the angle that we need to examine and verify,” the Chief Minister added.
“We need to work to change the mindset of the people. It is because of this reason that I have always been stressing on the need for everybody including the political parties to generate hope in the minds of the people,” Dr. Sangma said, adding that it was only when people lose hope that they become frustrated and resort to desperate moves.
“It is important to do all that is necessary to keep alive the hopes of the people particularly the youth and that is exactly what the Government is going to do,” Dr. Sangma added.
Meanwhile, the latest development has sent the police and the State intelligence agencies into a tizzy since they had no prior knowledge of any such move by the former KSU leader.
Sources have pointed out that this development is likely to affect peace and normalcy that Shillong has been witnessing over the last decade ever since the HNLC was neutralized.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police M Kharkrang said police is verifying media reports to ascertain the truth.
He informed that when he contacted some KSU leaders for verifying the report, he was told that they had not received any resignation letter from Fredrick Kharmawphlang.
It was reported that Kharmawphlang had sent his resignation to KSU president Daniel Khyriem and general secretary Auguster Jyrwa urged them to remove his name as member of the KSU since he had joined the HNLC.
Govt compelled Fredrick to join HNLC
A day after it was reported that former KSU vice president Fredrick Kharmawphlang had joined the banned HNLC along with 13 others, the Ri Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF) hit back at the State Government, saying that it was because of the indifferent attitude of the government that Fredrick had been ‘pushed to the wall’ and was compelled to ‘land up in undesirable camps’, our Nongpoh correspondent reports.
In an emergency meet held on Wednesday, the RBYF accused the Dr. Mukul Sangma led government of betraying the NGOs and the people twice over implementation of ILP in the State.
In his first term as Chief Minister, Dr. Sangma had constituted the High Level Committee on Influx before the Assembly Polls 2013 and also assured to take up the issue of implementation of ILP in the State, but in his second term after the election, he behaved otherwise.
“Now he is dilly-dallying on the issue and forcing the NGOs to study the 52 acts on influx even though the Government has been unable to provide copies of all the acts till date,” the RBYF added.
“Kharmawphlang has joined the HNLC as he is fed up of the draconian attitude of the government to silence anyone who dares to raise their voice against the government.