By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 4: Challenging the “status quo” suggested by the Expert Committee, BJP legislator AL Hek has called for a radical overhaul of Meghalaya’s Reservation Policy to prioritise “first-generation” job seekers from families with zero government representation.
Hek’s stance creates a clear friction with the Expert Committee’s recommendation to leave the decades-old policy untouched. The Pynthorumkhrah MLA argued that the primary purpose of reservation should be to uplift the underprivileged, specifically those families where no member has ever secured a government position.
The proposal seeks to pivot the state’s most volatile political debate away from communal percentages and toward economic reality. Hek suggested that the government must establish these socio-economic priorities before deciding on the specific percentage splits between the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo communities.
While Hek noted he had not scrutinised the full report during the recent Assembly session due to ill health, he remained firm on the necessity for reform.
For the veteran leader, ensuring that jobs reach families without existing government patronage is the critical first step in modernising the state’s employment framework.
