SHILLONG: Cabinet Minister Prestone Tynsong said the state police forces were on the job to check illegal and criminal activities of militant groups in the state.
Replying on behalf of the chief minister Conrad Sangma in the state Assembky on Tuesday to a supplementary query raised by Congress MLA Winnerson D. Sangma on the measures taken to wipe militant activities in the state, Tynsong said, “Police forces are on the job. They are dealing with criminal activities of different groups of people.”
Thanking the police forces, Tynsong recalled that eight GNLA cadres also surrendered in the month of March and reiterated that police forces were still on the job to ensure that militancy is wiped out.
In a circulated reply to the question raised by Winnerson, Tynsong said the activities of GNLA in the state had been firmly checked.
Asked to elaborate on the term “firmly checked” by Congress MLA, Zenith Sangma, the minister Tynsong pointed out those illegal and criminal activities of the GNLA had been drastically reduced.
To another circulated question, Tynsong said that though the exact number of cadres of the GNLA could not be stated but no senior cadre of GNLA was presently active in the state.
To a query raised by Congress MLA Zenith Sangma who asked whether any individual or group of individuals were indulged in anti-national activities, Tynsong maintained that the police forces would check on the criminal or anti-national activities.
“Law will take its own course and police forces are on the job,” the Cabinet Minister said.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh asked on the process of lifting ban imposed on the militant group as the surrendered cadres are getting packages on one hand and on the other hand, the militant group was still a banned outfit.
To this Tynsong said, “We are not in the process of withdrawing ban on them. The situation is totally different as the surrendered cadres are getting packages and secondly, ban on the organization still continues.”
A query asked by Congress MLA Charles Pyngrope evoked laughter in the Assembly when he asked on the system to decide the seniority of the cadres in the militant organization.
Tynsong smiled and said, “Senior cadres are those who joined at a time when the organization came up. It all depends on the seniority.”