Action against beef ban seekers draws praise

SHILLONG, Sep 29: The KSU on Sunday expressed satisfaction over the manner in which the state machineries ensured that a chartered flight carrying Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati Maharaj and his team was prevented from landing at the Shillong Airport in Umroi.
This had occurred against the backdrop of a horde of pressure group members, holding placards and banners, gathering at the airport to protest his visit. The Shankaracharya had planned to hoist the ‘Gau Dhwaj’ (cow flag) as part of his campaign to stop cow slaughter and to declare the cow as the “Mother of the Nation”.
“The state government wrote to AAI to cancel the Agartala-Shillong flight. He went back to Guwahati and while flying over Meghalaya airspace he did raise the flag but in a symbolic manner,” KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said.
“We are satisfied because he was not able to land. This is what the state should have done right from the very beginning like the Nagaland government did,” Thabah said.
He said the union has received assurance from the Ri-Bhoi district administration and the district police official that if any person from the right wing group lands at the Umroi airport, they will not be allowed to leave the airport premises.
On the assertion of the religious leader that he would soon plan a programme to visit Meghalaya, Thabah said, “The SP gave us an assurance that if they try to come by road he will be stopped. We have asked our members to be vigilant along the borders but we have not received any information about them trying to sneak into Meghalaya by road.”