SHILLONG, May 15: Cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Monday said the government would not come under pressure from any quarter on the roster system and reservation policy.
The Voice of the People Party (VPP) has been particularly critical of the government on the issue.
Lyngdoh said the MDA government is trying to hold discussions with all partners in the government, other political parties, NGOs, and student bodies.
Stating that the matter is very sensitive, she said it is fine if members of the opposition want to put pressure on the government but the government will take its own time in deciding on how to take this matter forward.
Lyngdoh said the government has a plan on how to address this issue.
Making it clear that they are not dodging the issue, she said the government would seek suggestions from everyone and put all stakeholders on board.
The minister’s reaction came hours after the VPP decided to hold a sit-in demonstration at the parking lot near the Additional Secretariat on Wednesday to protest the “adamant attitude” of the NPP-led MDA 2.0 in complying with its demand to put all recruitment processes in the state on hold till the state job reservation policy and the implementation of the roster system are reviewed.
The sit-in will be held from 10 am to 4 pm.
On Friday, the VPP had given the state government a 48-hour ultimatum to issue a notification putting on hold all ongoing recruitment processes.
In a statement, VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh urged party workers and the public at large to participate in the protest to put pressure on the NPP-led government.
He also said the government is trying to make itself immune to logic, fairness, and public distress.
Myrboh said the next round of agitational programmes would be announced in due course of time.
He also said the party is deeply anguished with the policy and measures adopted by the government with regard to mining in the state.
“It is without doubt that under this government, the rich get richer while the poor become poorer due to an unjust policy. Moreover, given the illegalities that the MDA government commits which even the High Court of Meghalaya has strongly observed from time to time, there is a high possibility that illegal mining will be carried out under the cover of scientific mining controlled by a few individuals belonging to a high-level tribe,” he said.
Myrboh said the VPP is of the opinion that the state will be able to prosper only when the government adopts a just and fair policy taking everybody on board.
He said the party feels that the state is headed by someone who is unaware of and unclear about the condition Meghalaya is in and the goal that he sets for the state.
“During the budget session, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma proudly announced that the MDA 2.0 government would put Meghalaya on the path to becoming a $10-billion economy. Can this target be achieved with the state suffering from load shedding of more than 10 hours a day?” he asked.
Myrboh said any person with the smallest capacity to use rational thinking will find it difficult to accept the daydream sold by the NPP-led government.
He said the load shedding of extreme nature reveals the government’s total mismanagement of the Power Department.
“Load shedding has crippled those industries and business establishments that depend entirely on electricity. This results in the loss of revenue for many of the establishments. Moreover, it affects the students who have to appear for their examinations. In the present era where the internet has become an integral part of the teaching-learning process, load-shedding directly means curtailing the rights of the students to learn,” he said.
