SHILLONG/ NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Home Minister James Sangma and Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong are likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and officials of the ministry in New Delhi on Sunday to discuss the Harijan Colony issue.
Both the chief minister and deputy chief minister are camping in New Delhi.
Sources said that following the meeting of the state chief secretary and principal secretary in-charge urban and municipal affairs with Union Home Ministry officials recently, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the officials of the ministry want to ensure that there is no law and order breakdown over the Harijan Colony issue.
Hence, the chief minister and his ministerial colleagues will apprise the Home ministry of the status. Tynsong also heads the High Level Committee set up to find ways and means to resolve the issue.
A senior state government official said that on the sidelines of the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday, the chief minister had a short discussion on the Harijan Colony issue with Amit Shah.
Apart from meeting the officials of the home ministry, the trio are also likely to meet Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amirnder Singh has said that a team from his state will visit Shillong to take stock of the situation.
The delegation, to be headed by Water Resources Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, will meet the chief minister and other concerned people, an official spokesperson said on Saturday.
The delegation will include MPs Ravneet Singh Bittu and Jasbir Singh Gill, along with MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid. DS Mangat, Special Secretary, Planning, has also been directed to accompany the delegation, which the Chief Secretary has been asked to coordinate.
The directions come amid media reports
that the settlers have received threats from a banned terrorist organisation warning them of dire consequences if they resisted the state government’s move to evict them.
“These reports have naturally caused great
concern back in Punjab as these families have been settled in Shillong long before the country’s independence,” said Captain Singh in a letter to Sangma requesting him to initiate urgent measures to instill a sense of security among the Punjabi settlers.
Underlining the sensitivity of the issue, the Punjab Chief Minister stressed the need for it to be carefully and amicably resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. He said it was important that the issue not be allowed to acquire a religious or parochial colour.
In the letter, Captain Singh referred to the visit to Meghalaya last year by a Punjab delegation headed by Cooperation Minister to meet the chief minister on the same issue.
The delegation had also met the settlers as well as other officials in the government and was assured by all quarters that due regard would be taken not to displace them.