Tura, Oct 8: The Association for Democracy and Empowerment (ADE) has sought an apology from state home minister, Lahkmen Rymbui over the incident where protesting contractual teachers were tear gassed by police when they sought to barge into the Secretariat demanding a reinstatement of their jobs.
Calling the incident high handed and appalling, ADE condemned the action by the state in their effort to quell democratic protests by teachers.
“We would like to remind the state government that in a democracy people have every right to protest, put forward their opinions if they feel any injustice has been done against them, in a peaceful manner. The concerned authorities should have come up to the teachers and addressed their concerns and tried to negotiate. They have been protesting for quite some time. Instead they were tear gassed and chased away by the police,” said president of ADE, Dalseng B Ch Momin, through a press release.
The group asserted that the act was in contrast to the talks on various platforms by the Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma, who always spoke of relentlessly working for the benefit of the people.
“He has continued to promise that nothing will be done against people’s will, but in reality, it is evident that those talks or promises are hollow just like fake drama to appease us,” felt Dalseng.
“For the last four and half years we have seen how this NPP led government has miserably failed while dealing with various crises. We raised our voice on various issues but not a single one has been resolved during this party’s tenure,” he added.
The NGO asserted that it was this stance of the present government and their reluctance that compelled them to suspect the intent for the welfare of the land and people.
“If we continue to choose the same individuals with this kind of stance as our leaders, in future our state will be in great peril. The teachers protesting in Shillong are our own brothers and sisters. We condemn the atrocities done by the police against them and appeal to the authorities to fulfill their demands as soon as possible. We also demand an apology from the Home and Education Ministry for the transgression committed against the teachers,” stated the release by the NGO.
IANS