SHILLONG: While stating that the ruling of the High Court of Meghalaya on AFSPA was a “slap on the government” for its failure to control the law and order situation in Garo Hills, Independent legislator from Gambegre, Saleng Sangma said that there is a need to have an NIA/CBI probe into the alleged politico-militant nexus instead of implementing the Act which “will not bring normalcy in Garo Hills”.
Sangma, a former community and rural development minister, also petitioned Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking his intervention to order NIA/CBI probe into the “nexus between politicians and militants”.
While respecting the verdict of the High Court on AFSPA, the legislator said that the Court should have also ordered an inquiry into the alleged politico-militant nexus.
“Instead of the promulgation of AFSPA, 1958, I feel that the Centre could intervene by ordering a probe by the CBI or NIA into the much-talked about politico-militant nexus to stem the rot emitted by militants and other criminal elements,” said the letter addressed to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The copies of the letter were also submitted to Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan and Home Minister Roshan Warjri.
Following a meeting with Warjri, Sangma said that the Home Minister did not give any )assurance on the demand for probe into politico-militant nexus.
However, he said that Warjri was of the view that the state government will approach the Centre for deployment of more forces as the government was not in favour of implementing AFSPA.
According to Sangma, “No militancy/insurgency would survive without the backing of certain political leaders to further their own vested interests.”
Sangma said that there are various factors which led to the current unrest in Garo Hills including the delay in settling the peace package with ANVC, non-tribals contesting GHADC polls among others.
He said that failure of the government to control the situation in Garo Hills has not only led to mushrooming of militant outfits in the region but also made innocent people victims of the two systems, one run by the state government and another by militants.
