SHILLONG, Jan 23: The Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA) comprising the UDP and HSPDP on Tuesday kicked off the election campaign for its common candidate for the Shillong parliamentary seat, Robertjune Kharjahrin during a meeting at the party office of the UDP.
On the occasion, he was formally introduced to the MLAs, MDCs, and leaders of both regional parties.
Kharjahrin, the former HYC president, said his campaign would be focussed on the issues he had raised as a social activist. These issues include the implementation of the inner-line permit, the settlement of the border dispute with Assam, and the inclusion of the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
He said it was high time Meghalaya had constitutional provisions for pre-legislative consultations as the people have no say in legislation after choosing their candidate.
“In a democracy, the people should be supreme and there must be a provision for pre-legislative consultation where any bill should be put in the public domain for their views and opinions before it is introduced in Parliament or Assembly for passage,” he said.
Kharjahrin cited instances where a Governor imposed his or her will on some legislations and took a long time to give assent to money bills. This has created a big problem in governance, he said.
“I have seen many states approach the Supreme Court to get various bills passed. It is high time for a country like India, the biggest democracy in the world, to review the appointment, transfer, impeachment, rules, and power of the Governor,” he said.
The common RDA candidate said people cannot live in a democracy where the Governor, the nominal head of a state, dictates the legislature comprising the people’s representatives.
He also said he would draw the attention of the Ministry of External Affairs to the atrocities committed against the Khasi and Garo people living in Bangladesh.
“It is important for the Centre to intervene to ensure that our people living in Bangladesh are protected,” he said.
Kharjahrin said that after the introduction of the 100th Amendment to the Constitution, villagers residing along the Bangladesh border have lost swathes of land due to the erection of a fence 150 yards from the zero line.
“The local villagers who have lost their land should be compensated,” he said.
On the demand for a separate central administrative cadre for Meghalaya, Kharjahrin said only a few states such as Assam and Meghalaya are now left with a joint cadre system.
“Meghalaya deserves its cadre since even the smaller states have a separate cadre. With a separate cadre, we will get more IAS, IPS, and IFS officers for better administration,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it is the people who are going to benefit from it. Meghalaya should have a special cadre since it attained statehood 52 years ago,” he said.
Kharjahrin also said the Centre and the state government should respect the political demands of the banned HNLC. “The outfit’s demands require a political solution,” he said.
He further said the RDA will avoid criticising or defaming anyone during the election campaign.
“Our campaign will focus on the issues and agendas afflicting the state and its people,” he said, urging the people to elect a candidate who can take up their issues in Parliament.
“I want to be a leader who will try to find a solution and not speak about problems only,” he said.
Earlier, UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh and HSDP president KP Pangniang felicitated Kharjahrin. They also spoke on the occasion.
