Ex-MCS officer files nomination for LS elections
TURA, March 26: Former MCS officer, Labenn Ch Marak, who will contest the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate for the Tura seat, filed his nomination in the presence of friends and well-wishers here on Tuesday.
Marak, who was recently in the news for leading a hunger strike demanding winter capital in Tura as well as seeking the retrospective implementation of the job reservation policy in Meghalaya, said the both the demands, along with the demand for a Garoland state as well as the formation of a Garo Territorial Council (GTC), were the issues that he would bring pursue if elected.
“We have been fighting for the implementation of the retrospective implementation of the JRP, the creation of a winter capital in Tura for quite some time now. We have also been jailed for a peaceful protest and termed as whatnot. This has just strengthened our resolve to continue the fight. Further, the demand for Garoland as well as the formation of a territorial council in line with the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) has been a long-pending demand, which was even inked in the tripartite agreement between the state, Centre and the ANVC and ANVC (B),” said Marak.
Asserting that these goals were achievable within the next five years, the independent candidate said that though people had been faced with multiple problems in the region, the same were being overlooked with the MP and the state government being led by the same party.
“Smuggling has become a major issue and the government is not willing to tackle this huge problem. This has impacted farmers of Garo Hills. The price of consumer items in Garo Hills is rising but the returns of farmers from broomsticks and betel nuts have seen a drastic fall. This has had a severe impact for the people of the region. It is blatant and the lawmakers themselves are breaking the law,” he remarked.
On the government’s assertion that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, would have little impact, Marak said, “If my neighbour’s house is on fire, can I say I am safe and it will not touch me? Once these people settle, maybe in Assam or West Bengal, what will stop them from coming here and settling once they are citizens of India.”
On the performance of the Tura MP Agatha Sangma, Marak asserted that she has been absent since the past five years and that everyone in Garo Hills knows the truth.
On his own chances in the upcoming elections, the former MCS officer said, “We don’t have the resources to do major campaigns but we are going village to village, even door to door. The support has been good and I am hopeful.”