SHILLONG, May 30: Further trouble lies in store for the NPP-led MDA 2.0 Government with more political parties and groups coming out in support of the demand for a review of the Meghalaya State reservation Policy, 1972.
UDP’s Mawkyrwat MLA, Renikton L. Tongkhar made it clear that review of the 51-year-old reservation policy was one of the main agenda of the party before the 2023 Assembly polls and it has not changed.
Tongkhar made the statement after meeting a group called “Ka Sur U Paidbah South West Khasi Hills District” who arrived at his residence cum office in Mawkyrwat along with placards and slogans asking him to raise his voice in support of the demand for a review of the reservation policy.
“Individually, I have spoken about this issue in the last session of the Assembly and have also met the chief minister many times. Collectively, the UDP has written to the state government requesting a review of the reservation policy,” Tongkhar said.
Urging the youths to be patient and to maintain peace and tranquility, Tongkhar said the government will take time to review the policy because it has to be examined carefully.
Former PDF MLA and NPP legislator from Mawkynrew, Banteidor Lyngdoh on Tuesday called on the need to revisit the reservation policy and asked the government to ensure that any decision on this front should be taken only after thorough deliberations.
“This is a critical and sensitive issue. The reservation policy should be proportionate and should take into account the interests of everyone,” Lyngdoh said while asking the government to ensure that any decision taken should not lead to any kind of violence or create law-and-order issues.
He expressed hope that the committee constitute by the government would come up with recommendations after weighing the pros and cons.
The Meghalaya Trinamool Congress and the Congress welcomed the government’s decision to allow the committee to discuss the reservation policy.
“The discussion on the reservation policy is necessary as it has been there for the last 52 years. The review should be done in a manner where all the stakeholders are benefitted,” TMC state president Charles Pyngrope said.
Congress leader and Gambegre MLA, Saleng A. Sangma said, “The state government’s move to allow discussions on the reservation policy is healthy because discussion will lead to a conclusion.”
He said the bonhomie among the tribal communities should continue and if somebody has an issue there should be a solution.
Meanwhile, the Synjuk Waheh Shnong Ri Jaintia (SWSRJ) on Tuesday asked the state government to review the job reservation policy and provide for 20% reservation for the Jaintias.
In a memorandum address to the chairman of the committee, Ampareen Lyngdoh, SWSRJ demanded that the reservation roster should be implemented with effect from 2023.
The Khasi Jaintia Christian Leaders Forum (KJCLF) also urged the state government to review the job reservation policy.
In a statement, KJCLF secretary Edwin H. Kharkongor said the five decades old policy needs a review.
“For the sake of the youths today and the future generations, it is honourable to correct the mistake which has been overlooked and unheeded by indifference and selfishness of many in the past as well as the present dispensations in power,” Kharkongor said.
