Ethnicity of committee members does not matter as long as they do a good job, says party
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 28: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) which made the state government review the reservation policy, has welcomed the composition of the expert committee that does not have members from the indigenous communities.
But it said the members of the expert committee should do their job well.
“Many may have apprehension about people from the indigenous communities not figuring in the expert committee constituted by the government to review the reservation policy. We have taken a clear stand that we do not have a problem with experts from neutral communities as long as they do their job,” VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said on Monday.
Pointing out that reviewing the state reservation policy is a sensitive matter, he said having neutral experts on board makes sense given the differences between the communities involved in the matter. “We will come up with a statement, if needed, after studying the background of the experts but as of now, we have no issues with the constitution of the committee,” he said.
Myrboh said the VPP would submit suggestions and recommendations to the government if they are needed. All political parties were asked to provide tips on how to go about reviewing the Meghalaya State Reservation Policy of 1972.
Ronnie V Lyngdoh, the leader of the Opposition, had on Sunday suggested roping in members from the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo communities for the expert panel. Their representation was critical to addressing all the concerns pertaining to the job quota policy, he said.
Bowing to pressure over 75 days, the state Cabinet on Friday approved the names for constituting the five-member expert panel to review the job quota policy.
The names were shortlisted by the three-member search committee headed by Chief Secretary D.P. Wahlang.
MDA spokesperson Ampareen Lyngdoh said the expert committee will be headed by Justice (retd) Mool Chand Garg, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, as the chairman.
Justice (retd) Satish Chandra, former judge of the Allahabad High Court, will be the expert member in constitutional law; Prof. DV Kumar of the Department of Sociology, NEHU, will be the expert member in sociology; Prof. Chander Shekhar of the Department of Fertility and Social Demography, Indian Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai, will be expert member in population studies while Prof. Subhadip Mukherjee of Economics and Public Policy at IIM Shillong will be the expert member in economics.