SHILLONG, April 11: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Tuesday said it is open to talks on the roster system but if the proposed all-party discussion fails and a special Assembly session is not convened to discuss the matter, it will hit the streets and go to people.
“If the matter can be resolved through discussions with the government, I don’t see anything wrong to engage in discussions. But if it cannot be resolved through discussions and the government does not convene the special session of the Assembly, then we will have no choice but to go to the public,” VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said.
The statement comes a day after Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong announced that the roster system would be discussed in the next Cabinet meeting followed by a meeting of the MDA coalition partners. He said an all-party meeting will also be called to discuss the matter, if required.
He, however, ruled out the special session of the Assembly on the grounds that the Cabinet will have a detailed discussion on the subject.
“We are very clear. We demanded that there should be a special session to discuss the roster system as initially the government blamed the High Court of Meghalaya on the implementation of the roster system. But the government cannot hide behind a court order,” the VPP spokesperson said.
“We made it very clear that we want a discussion in the Assembly on this. We submitted a letter, so let’s wait for a written reply,” he said.
HNYF against touching reservation policy
Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) president, Sadon K. Blah on Tuesday said the reservation policy of 1972 should not be touched since it may attract the attention of the judiciary. “I think it is not going to be a right move if we try to revamp the reservation policy by attempting to come up with legislation. The best thing would be to let the existing reservation policy continue,” he told reporters here on Monday.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court in its ruling made it clear that the reservation should not be beyond 50%.
According to him, there might be serious repercussions if there is an attempt to revamp the policy.
The HNYF president, however, agreed there would be a “huge negative impact” on job-seekers if the government decides to implement the roster system retrospectively.
“The roster system should be implemented from the day the High Court of Meghalaya gave its ruling. The roster system should be implemented prospectively and not retrospectively,” he said.
