TURA, Feb 28: The spate of protests against the elevation of Rakesh Sangma to the post of Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) CEM on Monday came to a grinding halt after the Babelapara MDC tendered his resignation on moral grounds.
On the sidelines, Albinush Marak, too, stepped down as Deputy Chairman, corroborating his ascension to the position of the Council CEM.
Meanwhile, the agitating groups, who were on cloud nine following the development, took out a victory procession during the day, airing their emotions by shouting slogans.
The pressure groups had on Sunday announced that they would continue the protest despite assurances from the NPP-led coalition of Rakesh’s resignation as no written documentation was provided to them. They also took a step further by inviting people from across Garo Hills to come and join them in the protest.
The clarion call for the protest rally was issued by the GSU, FKJGP, AYWO, ADE, FAF, AHAM, among others.
Rakesh had submitted his resignation to Governor Satya Pal Malik late Sunday evening, putting an end to the crisis, Monday got off on the wrong foot in view of a goof-up with the date mentioned as 2020 in the resignation letter. Confusion also prevailed among the protesters during the day over the date of Rakesh’s resignation.
However, an updated copy of the resignation letter was later resent.
Another letter by West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh to the Commissioner and Secretary, forwarding the details of the resignation soothed nerves, although not fully.
The air of bewilderment was finally cleared after a person, acquainted with both Rakesh and the protesting groups, received a confirmation from the outgoing CEM himself.
No sooner the confirmation by Rakesh came than the agitating groups ended their protest.
Many protesters broke into dances, venting their happiness at, what they called, a victory for the people of Garo Hills. The NGO leaders also expressed their gratitude to one and all for their support during the course of the demonstrations. The victory rally, which commenced thereafter from the Tura Government College field, went through Hawakhana, Babupara and the market area before ending in the same place it began.
During the victory rally, slogans of ‘Long Live Garoland’ and ‘GHADC for Garos’ resonated in the air.
More than 3,000 people, including women, senior citizens, youths and NGO members — from various districts of Garo Hills — were part of the procession.
The West Garo Hills district administration had earlier directed the shops to shut down prior to the rally in an effort to pre-empt any untoward incident. This led to shops in the market area being completely shut from around 12 noon till the end of the rally at around 4 pm.
Meanwhile, sources have informed that the MDCs were on their way to Shillong for a meeting with the Governor for the formation of a new EC to the GHADC.