From Our Correspondent
TURA, Sep 12: Several groups from Garo Hills who participated in 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 medical student who, they claimed, had behaved rudely and displayed a 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 and 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 rebelliousness. 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 NPYF’s stand that only people who are knowledgeable, mature, and have proper etiquette are entitled to converse 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 apologise 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 behave 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.”
