Political parties, traditional heads on ‘war mode’ against HC ruling on traditional heads
SHILLONG: Meghalaya is heading for a fresh bout of agitation as the rally of the traditional heads, regional parties, and pressure groups convened by the HSPDP on Wednesday decided to hold an ‘office-picketing’ tentatively on May 13, if the state government fails to resolve the imbroglio that arose out of last year’s Meghalaya High Court ruling clipping the powers of traditional heads.
The state had seen several rounds of intense picketing and bandhs marked by violence in 2013, mainly on the issue of implementation of inner-line permit (ILP).
Announcing this, the HSPDP vice-president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said, “We will start the non-cooperation movement with the office picketing for a period of one week if the State Government fails to respond to our demand by May 12”.
“This is a movement of the people so no pressure groups or NGO will take the lead during the period of office picketing,” he said while addressing the rally, which was attended by hundreds of people including headmen from different parts of the city and outside, leaders of UDP, KHNAM, KSU and HNYF.
Basaiawmoit informed the nature of protests will be those which will have a direct impact on the state government and not the general public.
Basaiawmoit also lamented certain reports that suggested HSPDP and KHNAM of trying to take political mileage out of the High Court ruling on Rangbah Shnong.
He also said that giving consent to the Village Administration Bill, 2014 by the government is the only way out of the present imbroglio.
In his speech, Basaiwmoit also touched upon two other contentious issues- ILP and uranium mining.
In his speech, the KHADC chief Adelbert Nongrum reiterated he would continue to oppose the High Court ruling till his last breath.
The state government has already rejected the KHADC (Village Administration) Bill, 2014 twice.
UDP working president Jemino Mawthoh and KSU president Daniel Khyriem also addressed the rally.