By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 5: The Leader of the Opposition, Mukul Sangma said Meghalaya would be in a position to apprise the Centre of whether or not any law passed by Parliament can be adopted by the state if Para 12AB of the Sixth Schedule is restored to its original.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India is under consideration for an amendment.
The opposition parties on Wednesday insisted on discussing the Sixth Schedule and Article 371 while the ruling parties said they could be examined. The latter maintained that the Sixth Schedule has provisions to protect the culture, land, and people and the need for Article 371 was thus not felt.
Raising a supplementary question, Sangma said: “It is important for us to know how we are protected under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule. Earlier, the power to resign in respect of application of any law enacted by Parliament was vested with the Governor. So, I think it will be good for our people to have clarity about the Sixth Schedule and Article 371 or they will be misguided.”
Recalling that the issue was debated earlier, he said, “Let us discuss so that people will know the difference between Article 371 and Sixth Schedule and based on that, any issue can be flagged before the Centre.”
Earlier, North Shillong’s VPP legislator Adelbert Nongrum reminded the House that in 2019, a motion was moved by a member who now sits on the treasury bench to bring the state under Article 371.
He also said Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma opposed the resolution then but stated that a government committee is examining the issue. “What is the present status of the government committee examining the issue?” he asked.
The Chief Minister replied, “There is no such discussion taking place at the state level right now.”
Nongrum asked if the government is open to forming an all-party committee to examine the proposal of bringing Meghalaya under Article 371.
He said the government can allow discussion if there is a requirement. “As of now, the Sixth Schedule has provisions to protect our culture, land, and people. Therefore, it was never felt that we should look at Article 371. But we can examine it for discussions and opinions.” he said.
Nongrum asked whether the special provisions under Article 371 could protect the people from the Uniform Civil Code or central laws that come into conflict with the religious and social practices in the state.
The Chief Minister said the Sixth Schedule and Article 371 have pros and cons. “The Sixth Schedule has provisions for legislature, executive, and judiciary wings whereas Article 371 does not have these provisions,” he said.
The district councils also have such powers under the Sixth Schedule, he added.
Pointing out that Article 371 has multiple forms, he said it is not the same for all the states. “Article 371 does not mention anything about protection or not having to implement central laws. It is different for different for different states with different provisions,” he said, advising the MLAs to look at the entire picture.
On the UCC, the Chief Minister cited the law passed by the Uttarakhand government. “They especially mentioned that the tribal laws, customs, and culture will be exempted from the provisions of the UCC. Generalising it will not give us the real picture,” he said, pointing out that UCC was not on the horizon of Meghalaya.
“We are clear about not bringing in the UCC in our state or adopting anything similar. Anything that dilutes the powers, customs, and rights of the tribal people is unacceptable to us,” he said.