TURA, Sep 12: Several groups from Garo Hills who were part of the meeting with Chief minister Conrad Sangma to discuss the ongoing GHADC crisis and the Tura medical College, have downplayed the demand for an apology made by the NPYF, from a participating medical student, who they claimed, had behaved rudely as well as displayed utter lack of knowledge, maturity and basic etiquette.
The combined groups comprising the ADE, AYWO, FAF, FKJGP and GSU on Friday issued a statement refuting the allegations made against the student as well as asserting that there was no need for an apology from him.
“The conglomerate of civil society organizations was present throughout the whole meeting which lasted between 5 to 6 hours and in the course of the entire meeting, we did not witness any action or behaviour which suggested that the student in question lacks knowledge, maturity and basic etiquette. On the contrary, the medical student despite his young age displayed composure and patience despite not getting satisfactory answers to his questions from the authorities,” the joint statement by the combined groups said.
According to them, there was only one instance when his tone and expressive gestures may have been construed by some as arrogance or rebellious. However, they felt one had to understand the exact context in which the words were spoken.
“By the time the incident occurred, it was almost 3 hours into the meeting and despite our persuasion, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya was mildly dismissive of our suggestions and the discussion of the meeting was going in circles which may have led the student to act a little assertive in expressing his opinions,” they stated.
The joint statement by the combined groups also rejected the stand of the NPYF that only people who are knowledgeable, mature and have etiquettes are entitled to have a conversation with the Chief Minister or their presumption that the medical student was instigated by vested interests.
On the demand by the NPYF that the student should apologized to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma as well as to the participating senior citizens and civil societies, the joint statement said, “As per our observations, the medical student in question did not act or behaved in a way that warrants an apology from his side to our Civil Society Organisations. On the contrary, we appreciate the student’s dedication, courage and sense of duty for taking part in that particular meeting despite the fact that he had to spend precious time and resources to be a part of that meeting”.