SHILLONG: Leader of Opposition, Mukul Sangma on Thursday said ULFA is supporting the regrouping of people who have been in different militant outfits in the Garo Hills region and western parts of Meghalaya including West Khasi Hills and South West Khasi Hills.
Stating that he has pressed the alarm bell a number of times after he got inputs on what is brewing on the insurgency front, Sangma said, “In 2019, the ULFA leader who is completely acquainted with the terrain of the Garo Hills region and western parts of Meghalaya was trying to again reach out to the members with whom they had connection”.
Informing that only last week he had tried to find out what is happening in West Khasi Hills and South West Khasi Hills, the Leader of Opposition said that there are inputs coming in that a number of armed militants were moving in groups of ten plus and a number of similar armed groups were located in West Khasi Hills.
He said that the Garo Hills and western part of Meghalaya including West Khasi Hills and South West Khasi Hills have always been viewed by many of the insurgent outfits of the North East as a safe corridor and a safe haven as they can have their training camps and raise their own cadres in these regions.
Pointing out that during his tenure as chief minister the strategy adopted was to get to their nest so that the insurgent groups would scatter, Sangma said, “Today the situation is different as there is a regrouping of some of the people who have been in different militant insurgent outfits and ULFA is actively supporting this game plan which is a threat for the region”.
“If some of the leaders are trying to take advantage of the situation and enabling the regrouping of militant outfits we must understand the magnitude of the problem. This means there is a serious problem,” he observed.
Accusing the state government of letting its guard down, Sangma said, “In the preceding years our government also focused on ensuring complete overhauling of the police organization and I have taken pride in the efficiency and commitment level of the state police.”
“We fought militancy and terrorism and ultimately restored peace. This speaks volumes about the commitments of the police organisation and honesty of the officers who were the source of our core strength,” he said adding that now there is a complete apathy about the importance of the police organisation.
He said that the previous government had raised the SF-10 but the present government is completely insensitive to the needs of the organisation.
“There has been a notification issued by the police organisation to the SF-10 indicating that anyone who wishes to get transferred to the state police battalion can indicate their willingness. Does this means that SF-10 will be nullified?” he questioned.
He further questioned if in the first instance the SF-10 was raised only to deal with the GNLA? Sustaining peace is crucial and restoring it is a multi pronged approach. A singular approach alone will work”.
Sangma said the complexity of dealing with lawlessness created by militancy needs to be understood by people at the helm of governance. Unless they know this they will not understand the value of maintaining the sanctity of the police organisation and the momentum of growth and development that is required to generate hope among the youth.