SHILLONG: On the eve of the visit of AICC president Rahul Gandhi, political activist Tennydard Marak, who is pursuing the ST status case of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, urged Rahul to either withhold or cancel the nominations of Mukul and his brother Zenith Sangma from contesting the February 27 Assembly polls from the constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
Marak’s contention is that Mukul and his brother cannot claim ST status as per the matrilineal tradition since their mother was not a Garo.
In an open letter that was released to the media on Monday, Marak alleged that Mukul, by “fraudulently obtaining Scheduled Tribe certificate”, has been cheating the voters and the people of Meghalaya since 1982 and depriving the genuine indigenous Garo people of their rights.
Marak pointed out that the Congress has favoured Mukul by allotting two ST seats, Songsak and Ampati, and his brother Zenith will contest from Rangsakona constituency, which will deprive three genuine indigenous Garo persons from contesting the seats.
To substantiate his stand, Marak said the name of Mukul’s mother is Rousanara Begum, daughter of late Amiruddin Ali Ahmed, who was an advocate in Nagaon District Court in Assam. The name of Rousanara, wife of Binoy Bhusan Marak, was registered in the voters’ list of polling station Ampati in 1983 as ‘Rousanara Begum’.
“The vital official record clearly reveals the fact that the alleged bogus caste certificate was issued six months and seven days before i.e. on 23/06/1982 whereas the mother’s name was Rousanara Begum,” Marak said.
According to Marak, the chief minister obtained the alleged ST certificate by manipulating the truth and concealing his mother’s identity that she was a Muslim by birth and not a Garo and that no verification was done before the caste certificate was issued by then deputy commissioner of Tura.
Marak said the Supreme Court in its January 19 judgment made it clear that “there cannot be any dispute that the caste is determined by birth and it cannot be changed by marriage with a person of scheduled caste.”
Marak said the children of Rousanara have no right to claim Scheduled Tribe status as per the Apex Court judgment. Marak also reminded that Sonia Gandhi in the past had asked the Meghalaya Government not to dilute customary laws and hence the activist asked Rahul not to allow Mukul and Zenith from contesting the polls.
