Shillong, March 27: VPP legislator, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has urged the state government to put on hold the implementation of roster system pending the review of the reservation policy.
“We have the problem with the reservation policy, not with the roster system. We feel that it is an urgent need to put on hold the implementation of the roster system retrospectively. Let the government come out first with a better policy since we do not want to discriminate anyone,” Basaiawmoit said while participating in the discussion on the budget in the Assembly on Monday.
According to him, the reservation policy has been changed eight to ten times through office memorandums.
He pointed out that there was also no provision for the reservation of the PwDs or the differently abled person adding that changes have been brought also to allow people from outside the state to avail the benefit.
“I feel that if all leaders in the past from both the community can come together for the formation of the state. Why can’t the present leadership from both communities sit together and discuss and come up with a better policy? We will not allow the vested interests and political activists to vitiate the atmosphere further,” the VPP legislator stated.
“Deputy Chief Minister has rightly responded that after the second of March, they will come to us and we will make them sit on the roof of the bus. This is what exactly they have done it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Basaiawmoit observed that the decision which was arrived at by statehood leaders to fix the reservation policy- 40 for the Khasis, 40 for the Garos and 20 for others were done thoughtlessly and hurriedly.
According to him, the rush on the part of the Khasi leaders to agree on this arrangement was perhaps due to the fear that their dream of statehood may not materialise.
He further observed that they overlooked the difference in the size of the population.
Referring to the gap in terms of the population between Khasis and Garos, he said that in 1971, the population of the Khasis is 4,57,064 while that of the Garos is 3,20,613.
“And if you convert it to percentage Khasi constitutes up to 45% and the Garo community constitutes 30% only,” he said.