From Our Correspondent
TURA, Aug 26: BJP leader and Tura MDC Bernard Marak on Tuesday claimed that the employees’ protest against the pending salaries in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) was politically diverted by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who, in his recent statement, assured the payment of salaries from November but failed to address the core issue of the employees.
“The core issue of the GHADC employees is not a commitment to pay the monthly salaries by the state but a pending payment of salaries for 43 months by the NPP Executive Committee. It has been pointed by many as a distracting political manoeuvre, forcing many to question the intention of such an assurance at this time, while avoiding any commitment on the backlog of the salaries of GHADC employees,” Bernard said.
According to the Tura MDC, the chief minister’s assurance should have come only after clearing the backlog of 43 months’ salaries.
“Doing so at this time shows that the intentions of the state government seem very clearly focused on taking over the revenue-generating departments of GHADC. The grievances of the employees were not addressed in the video statement of the CM; instead, it was a diverted commitment, assuring to pay the salaries from November by the state government, which was not even part of the demands raised by the employees,” he added.
Another factor requiring closer examination, according to Bernard, is the source from where the salaries will be paid every month by the state government.
The MDC further maintained that everything must be transparent and put in the public domain before any conclusions are drawn.
