SHILLONG, July 26: Education Minister, Rakkam A. Sangma has sought a proper investigation into the “unprecedented” Tura violence as it was an attack on the head of the state, also the local MLA.
“This is a grave incident that has taken everyone by surprise,” he said.
He said the slogans raised by the crowd on the night of July 24 made it apparent that the violence was politically motivated.
He claimed the leaders among the protestors had shouted that the Trinamool Congress is the only Garo party and that the NPP is not fit to be either a Garo or a Khasi party.
The protestors even called the NPP as the ‘Nepali People’s Party’, Sangma said.
“The kind of language used is a strong indication that some political parties were behind this pre-planned violence,” he said.
He pointed out that some of the people arrested were leaders of a political party and they included a candidate of that party.
“All of them were very much part of the protest and violence and they were present in the crowd. What would have happened to the CM had he come out of the office that night?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the Garo National Council (GNC) condemned the perpetrators and instigators of the attack on Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and the leaders of the NGOs when they were discussing the demand for making Tura Meghalaya’s winter capital.
“The words used by the crowd and their action, as evident from the videos circulated on social media, are totally condemnable. The perpetrators who brought the shame to the entire state should be arrested and booked under appropriate sections of the law,” GNC general secretary, Augustine R. Marak said.
The position of the CM and the wishes of the pressure groups that were on a hunger strike for 15 days should have been respected, he said.